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REESE  LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 
tlass 


BY  THE  SAME   AUTHOR 

The  Troubadours  at  Home.  Their  Lives  and 
Personalities,  their  Songs  and  their  World.  Two 
volumes,  8vo,  with  nearly  200  illustrations,  $6.00, 
postpaid. 

This  is  an  attempt,  based  upon  a  careful  study  of 
substantially  all  the  scholarly  literature  of  the  subject, 
to  re-create  the  fascinating  mediaeval  civilization  of 
Provence,  and  place  the  troubadours  in  it  as  living 
persons, — fighting,  loving,  singing,  and  suffering. 

Academy,  London  :     "  Truly  a  fascinating  book." 

Tribune,  New  York  :  "  Not  only  convincing, 
but  delightful.  We  cannot  praise  him  too  warmly. 
.  .  ,  There  is  not  a  single  space  of  dulness 
between  these  covers." 

Quarterly  Revieiv,  London:  "  If  one  wishes  to 
understand  Provence  .  .  .  his  best  preparation 
— by  a  strange  contrast — will  be  through  the  wide 
and  erudite  labours  of  an  American  enthusiast.  In 
his  two  beautiful  volumes,  Mr.  Justin  H.  Smith  has 
elucidated  his  vast  subject-matter  with  a  fulness,  a 
thoroughness,  and  a  vivifying  sympathy  which  render 
his  labour  of  love  a  truly  valuable  production." 

Arnold's  March  from  Cambridge  to  Quebec. 

A  Critical  Study.  8vo,  xx  +498  pp.,  with  18  maps 
and  plans,  and  Arnold's  Journal,  never  before 
printed.  $2.00,  postpaid. 

Times,  New  York  :  ' '  Certainly  the  best  account 
of  Arnold's  March  yet  produced." 

Spectator,  London:  "  It  is  a  monograph  of  sin 
gular  interest,  and  is  original  work  of  an  invaluable 
type." 

Annals  of  the  American  Academy  of  Political  and 
Social  Science:  "  The  author  may  rest  assured 
that  his  work  will  never  have  to  be  performed 
again." 

G.    P.   PUTNAM'S  SONS 
NEW  YORK  LONDON 


ANNOUNCEMENT 

As  the  author  is  engaged  upon  a  history  of  the 
war  between  the  United  States  and  Mexico,  con 
sidered  in  all  its  aspects,  he  would  feel  greatly 
obliged  for  any  information  about  manuscripts  or 
out-of-the-way  published  material  bearing  upon 
the  subject.  He  may  be  addressed  at  270  Beacon 
St.,  Boston,  Mass. 


GENERAL  RICHARD  MONTGOMERY 


OUR  STRUGGLE  FOR 

THE  FOURTEENTH 

COLONY 

CANADA  AND  THE  AMERICAN 
REVOLUTION 


BY 
JUSTIN  H.  SMITH 

Professor  of  Modern   History  in   Dartmouth  College  ;  author  of 

"The  Troubadours  at  Home,"  "Arnold's  March 

from  Cambridge  to  Quebec,"    "  The 

Historic  Booke,"   etc. 


315  Illustrations  and  23  Maps 


VOLUME  I 


G.P.PUTNAM'S  SONS 
NEW  YORK  &  LONDON 
"Knickerbocker  press 

1907 


COPYKIGHT,   IQ07 
BY 

JUSTIN   H.   SMITH 


Tlbe  Ifcnfcfeerbocfcer  Jprees,  IRew  J^orft 


TO 

THEODORE  ROOSEVELT 

PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

Scholar,  Soldier,  Historian,  and  Statesman 

These  chapters  of  American  History 

are  very  respectfully  inscribed 


-SE 


PREFACE 

THIS  work  aims  to  give  an  account  of  the  intense  effort 
of  the  thirteen  United  Colonies,  at  the  time  we  were 
becoming  the  United  States,  to  secure  the  adhesion  of  the 
one  other  conspicuous  member  of  the  British  colonial  group 
in  North  America  ;  and  the  form  of  words  chosen  for  a 
title  seems  to  suggest  these  ideas  better  than  any  other  of 
equal  length  that  occurred  to  the  author. 

New  Brunswick  had  not  been  organized  at  the  time  of 
our  Revolution ;  Nova  Scotia,  St.  John's  Island,  and  New 
foundland  were  not  involved  in  the  ' '  struggle, ' '  and  the 
region  between  the  Ohio  River  and  the  Great  Lakes,  though 
under  British  law  a  part  of  Canada  at  that  period,  has 
never  been  recognized  as  such  by  the  Americans.  The 
field,  therefore,  is  what  has  often  been  known  as  Upper 
and  Lower  Canada ;  but  the  former,  mainly  a  wilderness, 
had  almost  no  share  in  the  events. 

In  a  sense,  the  "struggle"  ended  in  June,  1776  ;  but  as 
the  later  operations  were  hinged  upon  those  prior  to  that 
date  and  aimed  constantly  at  a  renewal  of  the  effort,  it 
seems  very  proper  to  include  them. 

An  attempt  has  been  made  to  secure  completeness  and 
accuracy  of  information,  and  also— since,  in  the  early  years 
of  the  Revolution,  feeling  had  more  influence  than  calcu 
lation — to  help  the  student  of  the  events  realize  for  himself 
the  situations  and  the  states  of  mind  which  they  involved. 

When  the  author  published,  a  few  years  since,  a  work 
avowedly  designed  to  reconstruct  the  world  of  the  trouba 
dours  and  place  the  troubadours  in  it  as  living  characters, 


Vlll 


Preface 


a  prominent  critic  complained  that  pains  had  been  taken 
to  be  "interesting"  ;  and  this  fact  suggests  that  in  the 
present  case  the  same  charge  may  perhaps  be  brought.  If 
so,  the  same  reply  may  be  made  as  before  :  certain  phases 
of  the  subject  are  essentially  of  such  a  nature  that  no  ac 
count  of  them  can  be  lifelike — that  is  to  say,  true — if  it  is 
not  interesting.  But  the  intention  has  been  to  keep  the 
requirements  of  critical  investigation  steadily  in  mind,  and 
accept  literary  elements  only  for  their  sound  historical 
worth. 

Every  place  in  the  United  States,  Canada,  and  Great 
Britain  where  valuable  documents  have  seemed  likely  to 
exist,  has  been  searched.  The  copying,  when  not  done  by 
the  author,  has  been  the  work  of  experienced  persons,  be 
lieved  to  be  competent.  Everything  has  been  verified, 
—in  many  of  the  more  important  cases,  twice  or  thrice. 
All  the  localities  of  any  significance  in  the  story  have  been 
visited  by  the  author,  and  have  been  studied  until  he  felt 
sure  that  he  understood  the  condition  of  things  at  the 
period.  Great  pains  have  been  taken  to  discover  those 
minor  data,  also,  which  the  official  reports  commonly  take 
for  granted,  but  without  which  the  reality  and  life  of  the 
past  cannot  be  felt. 

As  substantially  all  the  documents  drawn  upon  by  pre 
vious  writers  on  the  subject,  together  with  very  many  more, 
have  been  available,  it  has  been  possible  to  base  the  work 
— as  the  footnotes  indicate — upon  first-hand  authorities. 

The  manuscript  sources  are  in  fact  considerably  more 
numerous  than  would  be  inferred.  The  general  rule  has 
been  to  refer  to  some  printed  version  of  a  document,  if  a  sub 
stantially  correct  one  exists,  since  but  few  readers  could 
easily  consult  the  original  even  if  informed  where  it  is. 
For  example,  the  originals  of  Schuyler's,  Montgomery's, 
and  Wooster's  reports  in  1775-76 — or  official  contempo 
rary  copies — were  used  ;  but,  except  in  special  cases,  the 


Preface 


IX 


references,  after  due  collation,  have  been  made  to  Force's 
American  Archives  or  other  reprints.  The  approximate 
number  of  manuscripts  used  is  1425. 

The  List  of  Sources  at  the  back  of  this  volume  shows 
what  published  material  has  been  drawn  upon.  The  in 
tention  has  been  to  examine  all  the  printed  matter  of  any 
importance  bearing  on  the  subject,  and  something  has  been 
obtained  from  about  750  books  and  pamphlets.  These 
have  contributed  little,  however,  except  documents,  bio 
graphical,  topographical,  and  other  ancillary  information, 
and  occasional  suggestions.  In  many  cases  the  assistance 
has  been  too  indefinite  for  citation  in  the  footnotes,  and 
a  few  of  the  books  are  named  in  the  List  only  to  show 
that  they  have  been  faithfully  examined. 

It  would  no  doubt  have  been  desirable  to  print  in  full 
the  unpublished  documents  made  use  of;  but  they  would 
have  added  a  great  and  unwieldy  bulk,  and,  in  the  case 
of  many,  the  author  has  no  authority  so  to  print  them. 
To  compensate  in  part  for  this  lack,  as  well  as  to  give  the 
reader  a  constant  sense  of  his  nearness  to  the  sources, 
a  very  large  number  of  quotations,  giving  the  pith  of 
the  documents,  have  been  introduced.  Owing  to  the  fre 
quency  of  short  extracts,  single  instead  of  the  usual 
double  marks  have  been  employed  by  the  printers.  State 
ments  that  read  like  quotations,  though  not  enclosed  in 
marks,  give  only  the  substance  of  what  was  said. 

Consistency  in  the  spelling,  capitalization,  and  punctu 
ation  of  the  quotations  could  not  be  attained.  In  case 
the  manuscript  was  used,  the  writer's  peculiarities  have 
been  followed,  but  in  many  instances  only  a  printed  and 
emended  copy  has  been  found.  When,  for  the  reason 
explained  above,  it  seemed  best  to  refer  to  the  printed 
version  even  though  the  original  was  at  hand,  the  former 
had  to  be  reproduced,  else  any  one  looking  up  the  ref 
erence  would  suppose  the  author  had  committed  errors. 


x  Preface 

To  carry  so  large  a  number  of  irregularities  with  per 
fect  accuracy  through  the  many  processes  of  copying  and 
printing  is  much  more  difficult  than  one  would  imagine, 
and  this  is  particularly  true  when  the  substance,  not  the 
form,  is  the  writer's  principal  concern.  Very  great 
care  has  been  used  to  secure  an  exact  reproduction  ;  but  it 
would  not  be  wise  to  guarantee  perfection.  This  fact 
seems  to  the  author  of  but  slight  moment,  however.  A 
real  historical  value  lies,  no  doubt,  in  presenting  enough 
of  the  documents  in  their  true  archaic  form  to  give  the 
reader  a  sense  of  contact  with  the  period  ;  but  this  is  not 
materially  diminished,  if — as  may  have  befallen — a  few 
peculiarities  out  of  a  great  number  have  been  accidentally 
normalized. 

The  footnotes  cover  substantially  all  the  statements  of 
the  text  except  some  matters  of  common  knowledge  and 
the  points  (mainly  topographical)  ascertained  personally 
by  the  author  or  reported  orally  to  him  by  local  author 
ities.  The  utmost  care  has  been  taken  to  present  these 
many  citations  to  the  reader  without  inaccuracy.  To  some 
extent  the  author  has  had  assistance  from  others'  eyes  in 
this  phase  of  the  work,  but  he  believes  they  have  been 
competent  and  attentive. 

As  the  text  was  written  in  all  cases  with  the  documents 
in  view,  the  easiest  method  of  making  references  would 
have  been  to  connect  each,  by  a  superior  figure,  with  the 
statement  it  supports ;  but  nine  thousand  such  figures 
inserted  in  the  text  would  have  seemed  to  nearly  all 
readers  intolerable.  To  give  references  for  certain  state 
ments  and  not  for  others  might  have  appeared  to  throw 
discredit  upon  the  latter,  and  could  have  answered  the 
queries  of  only  a  percentage  of  the  readers.  To  omit 
references  entirely  has  not  seemed  best,  since  many  will 
be  glad  to  ascertain,  at  the  slight  expense  of  glancing  at 
the  foot  of  the  page,  on  what  basis  the  narrative  rests, 


Preface  xi 

and  some  will  desire— at  which  points  could  not  be  fore- 
seen — to  look  into  certain  matters  for  themselves. 

The  best  plan  the  author  could  devise  was  to  group  the 
references,  as  a  rule,  by  paragraphs,  arranging  them  in 
the  order  of  the  statements,  or — in  the  case  of  an  episode 
covered  by  many  authorities,  where  this  plan  would  have 
required  the  repetition,  paragraph  after  paragraph,  of  a 
cumbrous  mass  of  citations — to  present  them  once  for  all 
and  discuss  in  the  Remarks  at  the  end  of  the  volume 
such  points  as  require  special  support.  Hints  have  been 
introduced  in  the  footnotes  where  they  seemed  necessary, 
and  it  is  thought  that  an  attentive  reader  need  seldom 
have  difficulty  in  finding  the  reference  he  desires.  A 
statement  once  proved  is  not  proved  again,  of  course  ; 
and  when,  as  occasionally  happens,  a  document  is  used  a 
second  time  in  a  paragraph,  a  second  reference  is  not 
usually  given.  If  used  in  the  succeeding  paragraph,  it  is 
again  cited. 

The  illustrations  are  presented  in  the  belief  that  they 
are  a  valuable  complement  of  the  text.  A  large  part  of 
them  are  from  the  author's  collection  of  photographs  taken 
by  himself.  The  sources  of  all  are  given  in  connection 
with  the  Table  of  Contents.  As  the  illustrations  are  in 
cluded  in  the  general  index,  any  one  may  readily  be  found. 

A  portion  of  the  ground  included  in  the  present  work 
has  already  been  covered  by  the  author.  Foreseeing  that 
he  would  not  have  space  here  to  discuss  and  correct  the 
very  numerous  errors,  great  and  small,  regarding  the 
Kennebec  expedition,  which — owing  to  the  lack  of  any 
thorough  study  of  the  subject— had  come  to  be  accepted 
as  facts,  and  foreseeing  also  that,  unless  such  corrections 
were  made,  many  statements  here  set  down  would  ap 
pear  to  be  errors,  he  has  recently  published  Arnold's  March 
from  Cambridge  to  Quebec.  There  is  no  duplication,  how 
ever.  Arnold's  March  is  not  a  history.  It  is  called 


xii  Preface 

on  the  title-page  "A  Critical  Study,"  and  represents  a 
skeleton  which  the  present  work  aims  to  bring  forward 
clothed  with  its  proper  flesh  and  blood,  while,  at  the  same 
time,  it  offers  many  facts  as  well  as  many  discussions  for 
which  there  is  no  room  here.  To  it  the  student  is  re 
ferred  for  whatever  concerns  the  elucidation  of  that  very 
complicated  and  often  misunderstood  enterprise. 

As  the  author  has  suggested  above,  in  the  gathering, 
handling,  copying,  and  printing  of  so  much  material, 
it  cannot  be  supposed  that  no  slips  have  occurred.  Even 
in  the  process  of  final  verification,  continued — as  it  had 
to  be — hour  after  hour,  day  after  day,  and  week  after 
week  for  months,  the  eye  and  the  mind  would  inevitably 
flag  at  instants,  and  in  one  of  those  instants  an  error,  if 
it  happened  along,  could  steal  by.  Notification  of  any 
mistakes  that  may  be  discovered  will  be  gratefully  received. 

The  author  wishes  sincerely  that  it  were  possible  to 
name  all  who  have  aided  him  in  his  long  quest  for  facts. 
As  the  number  is  too  great  for  such  recognition,  he 
begs  them  to  accept  this  general  but  grateful  and  cordial 
acknowledgment.  In  the  List  of  Sources  are  mentioned 
the  most  important  public  and  semi-public  collections  of 
documents  used,  to  the  curators  of  which  he  is  pecu 
liarly  indebted.  These  collections  are  also  mentioned  in 
the  footnotes,  whenever  a  document  belonging  to  them 
is  cited.  Particular  mention,  however,  must  be  made  of 
the  gentlemen  in  charge  at  the  Public  Record  Office,  Lon 
don  ;  the  Canadian  Archives  Office,  Ottawa  ;  the  Massa 
chusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  and  Pennsylvania 
Historical  Societies  ;  the  Library  of  Congress  ;  the  New 
York  Public  Library,  Lenox  Branch,  and  the  libraries 
of  Harvard  University  and  Dartmouth  College. 

J.  H.  S. 


CONTENTS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS 

The  Illustrations  are  included  in  the  Index  also. 

SOURCES  OF  THE  ILLUSTRATIONS:  i,  attached  to  the  title  of 
an  illustration,  signifies  that  the  original  is  in  the  Continental 
Congress  Papers,  Library  of  Congress;  2,  Washington  Papers 
Library  of  Congress;  3,  Emmet  Coll.,  N.  Y.  Pub.  Lib.  (Lenox 
Branch);  4,  S.  Adams  Papers,  N.  Y.  Pub.  Lib.  (Lenox  Branch); 
5,  Wheelock  MSS.,  Dartmouth  College;  6,  Dreer  Coll.,  Hist.' 
Soc.  of  Penna.;  7,  American  Antiquarian  Soc.,  Worcester, 
Mass.;  8,  Winsor,  Narr.  and  Crit.  Hist,  of  America;  9,  photo 
graphed  by  the  author ;  in  other  cases  the  source  is  stated  below. 
Full-page  illustrations  are  starred. 

Frontispiece.    General  Richard  Montgomery.      (Portrait  owned 
by  Miss  Julia  Barton  Hunt.) 

INTRODUCTION 

The  Boston  Committee  of  Correspondence.  Meeting  in 
February,  1774.  Joseph  Warren.  Samuel  Adams.  Their 
views.  The  question  of  Canada.  Adams's  wide  influence. 

Purpose  of  the  Committee.  Scope  of  the  present  work i 

Illustrations.  P.  2,  Faneuil  Hall  in  1775  (New  Eng. 
Mag.,  XXI.,  p.  524) ;  5,* Joseph  Warren  (pastel  belonging  to 
the  heirs  of  C.  F.  Adams) « ;  9,  *  Samuel  Adams  (photograph 
from  a  painting  by  Copley,  Boston  Museum  of  Fine  Arts). 

CHAPTER  I.     ROOTS  OF  BITTERNESS 

Early  history  of  Canada.  Cartier.  Champlain.  Canada 
a  royal  province.  Frontenac.  Montcalm.  Unrest  there. 
Indian  troubles.  Wars  with  the  English  colonies.  Com 
mercial,  ecclesiastical,  and  political  dissensions.  The  Con 
quest.  The  British  regime.  The  habitants.  The  noblesse. 
The  Church.  Governor  Carle  ton.  The  military  class.  The 
British  civilians.  Mutual  relations  of  these  social  elements. 
Thomas  Walker.  Discord  between  the  British  military 
and  civil  elements  illustrated  by  the  outrage  against 
Walker.  Irritating  circumstances 12 


xiv  Contents  and  Illustrations 


PAGE 

Illustrations.  P.  15,  *  Jacques  Cartier  (Winsor,  Cartier 
and  Frontenac,  p.  45);  19,  Champlain's  Plan  of  Tadousac 
(ib.,  p.  79);  25,  Champlain's  Picture  of  his  Fight  with  the 
Iroquois  (ib.,  p.  97);  30,  Champlain's  House  at  Quebec 
(Shamplain;  CEuvres,  III.,  p.  155);  33,  Frontenac,  signa 
ture  ;  3  6,  Marquis  de  Montcalm  ',37,  Ruins  of  Louisburg 
(New  Eng.  Mag.,  VIII.,  p.  738) ;  41,  *  General  James  Wolfe 
(see  Century  Mag.,  LV.,  p.  329). 

CHAPTER  II.  GERMS  OF  REVOLT 

The  real  fulminate.  A  conditional  promise  of  popular 
government.  Difficulties  in  the  way  of  it.  Agitation  to 
secure  it.  Attempts  to  gain  the  co-operation  of  the 
French  Canadians.  Attitude  of  the  British  government. 
Carleton's  motives.  The  Quebec  Act.  British-Canadian 
objections  to  the  new  status  of  the  Church.  Reply. 
French-Canadian  objection  to  the  same.  The  new  system 
of  civil  law.  British-Canadian  opposition  to  that.  Appa 
rent  sentiment  of  Canada  when  Carleton  returned  there. 

Real  sentiment.     The  prospect 46 

Illustrations.  P.  48,  S.  Adams,  signature  «;  53,  *  General 
Guy  Carleton  (Political  Mag.,  1762);  56,  Lord  North, 
signature^;  58,  Wedderburn  (Century  Mag.,  LVIIL,  p. 
893);  60,  Guy  Carleton,  signature;  63,  *  Earl  of  Dart 
mouth  (from  a  copy  belonging  to  Dartmouth  College, 
probably  by  Lawrence,  of  a  portrait  by  Reynolds  in  the 
Foundling  Hospital,  London);  67,  Dartmouth,  signature.* 

CHAPTER  III.     THE  REVOLUTION  ENTERS  CANADA 

The  Quebec  Act  stimulates  the  desire  of  the  Americans  to 
win  Canada.  View  that  the  Act  contained  nothing  to 
alarm  the  Americans.  Reply.  The  discussion  in 
Parliament.  The  value  of  Canada  as  a  check  upon  the 
Colonies  understood  and  borne  in  mind  by  the  British. 
The  main  question :  American  feeling.  Alexander  Hamil 
ton's  opinion.  Echoes  of  the  discussions  in  Parliament. 
Opinions  transmitted  from  Great  Britain.  American 
views.  Official  action.  The  protests  against  the  Quebec 
Act  essentially  sincere.  Gleams  of  hope.  Projects  in 
Massachusetts.  A  plan  to  open  communication  with 
Canada  adopted.  Adams's  letter.  John  Brown.  His 
journey.  Montreal.  Life  of  the  Canadians.  The  political 


Contents  and  Illustrations  xv 


situation  in  Canada.  Influences  favorable  to  the  Colonies. 
The  Address  of  Congress.  Difficulties  in  the  way  of  joining 
with  the  Americans.  The  reply  to  Adams's  letter.  The 

results  of  Brown's  mission 70 

Illustrations.  P.  72,  Isaac  Barre,  signature;  75,  *  Earl 
of  Chatham  (from  a  painting  by  Richard  Brompton) ;  81, 
Chatham,  signature;  84,  *PittstoS.  Adams,  Oct.  10,  17744; 
86,  Vose's  House  (photograph);  89,  *  Gerry  to  S.  Adams, 
Dec.  19,  i7744;  91,  *  Brown  to  S.  Adams,  Feb.  15,  1775*; 
95,  Endorsement  on  S.  Adams's  letter  of  Feb.  21,  I7754; 
100,  *  Brown's  Report9  (Mass.  Arch.,  Vol.  193,  p.  41). 

CHAPTER  IV.     TICONDEROGA 

The  British  government  throws  down  the  gauntlet.  The 
Lexington  alarm.  Boston  besieged.  Cannon  needed  by 
the  Americans.  Cannon  exist  at  Lake  Champlain.  British 
plans  to  secure  the  posts  there.  The  Green  Mountain  Boys 
and  their  designs  against  the  posts.  Benedict  Arnold. 
Massachusetts  authorizes  him  to  seize  Ticonderoga.  A 
Connecticut  expedition  is  organized  for  the  same  purpose. 
Its  movements.  Arnold  meets  it.  The  problem  of  com 
mand.  ,  The  solution  of  it.  The  force  is  increased.  It 
moves  on  and  takes  Fort  Ticonderoga  by  surprise.  The 

road  to  Canada  now  open 107 

Illustrations.  P.  108,  Lexington  Green  8  (Mass.  Mag., 
1794);  1 1 6,  Catamount  Tavern  (photograph);  119, 
Arnold's  House  (photograph);  124,  Door  of  the  Mission 
House,  Stockbridge9 ;  126,  Pittsfield  in  1807  (lithograph); 
128,  First  Meeting-House,  Pittsfield  (New  Eng.  Mag.,  IX., 
p.  392);  130,  Allen,  signature;  132,  Hand's  Cove9 ;  135, 
*  East  Front  of  Ticonderoga,  1903 

CHAPTER  V.     Two  RAIDS  INTO  CANADA 

The  capture  of  Ticonderoga  no  mean  performance.  Crown 
Point.  The  capture  of  Crown  Point  and  Fort  George. 
Major  Skene.  His  commission.  Skenesborough.  The 
capture  of  that  place.  Arnold  and  Allen.  Arnold  and 
Easton.  Arnold  and  the  Green  Mountain  Boys.  The 
strategic  design  of  Allen's  party.  Arnold's  attitude  toward 
it.  Arnold's  position  at  Ti'conderoga.  A  scheme  to  elimi 
nate  him.  The  situation  suddenly  changes.  Arnold's  expe- 


xvi  Contents  and  Illustrations 


dition  to  St.  Johns.  Allen's  attempt  to  occupy  St.  Johns. 
His  defeat,  discredit,  and  retirement.  Determination  to 
resist  any  British  attack.  Preparations  to  transport  the 
cannon  to  Cambridge  and  hold  the  ground.  A  compli 
cated  situation 14! 

Illustrations.  P.  142,  *  Delaplace  to  Schuyler,  Dec.  i, 
I7753;  149,  Fort  St.  Frederic,  1903°;  151,  One  of  the 
Barracks  at  Crown  Point,  1903°;  155,  Moat,  Crown  Point 
(photo,  by  Mr.  C.  G.  Ross);  158,  Fort  George  about  1750 
(an  old  engraving);  161,  *Twin  Mts.,  Lake  George  (photo 
graph);  163,  Philip  Skene,  signature.3 

CHAPTER  VI.     IN  SELF-DEFENCE 

The  Continental  Congress  wishes  to  keep  clear  of  responsi 
bility  for  what  has  been  done  at  the  lakes.  The  Colonies 
are  not  officially  involved.  It  is  decided  to  abandon  the 
posts.  But  the  public  feel  alarmed.  Signs  of  coming  war, 
particularly  from  the  north.  The  Indians  as  well  as  the 
Canadians  feared.  Ticonderoga  commonly  regarded  as  an 
essential  bulwark.  Protests  against  abandoning  it. 
Measures  of  the  Colonies  to  hold  it.  Connecticut  troops  are 
sent  there.  Arnold  is  ordered  to  give  place  to  their  com 
mander  and  resigns.  The  result  is  unfavorable.  Schuyler  is 
ordered  to  take  command  at  the  lakes.  The  outlook 

toward  the  north  is  dark 166 

Illustrations.  P.  168,  Silas  Deane  »  (Du  Simitiere, 
Thirteen  Portraits,  1783);  173,  Joseph  Warren,  signature; 
176,  Page  of  Trumbull's  Memorandum  Book  (New  Eng. 
Mag.,  XVII.,  p.  18);  179,  Joseph  Hawley,  signatures; 
187,  *  Arnold  to  Congress,  July  u,  17751;  191,  *  Hinman 
to  Schuyler,  July  7,  i775-3 

CHAPTER  VII.     CANADA  REACHES  A  CRISIS. 

George  III.  is  firm  in  his  policy  regarding  America.  Will 
he  be  equally  stubborn  in  sticking  to  the  Quebec  Act? 
The  Canadian  petition  against  it.  The  fate  of  the  petition. 
The  increasing  discontent  in  Canada.  Some  quail  before 
the  prospect  of  trouble.  Others  continue  to  pro 
claim  their  rights.  Walker's  attitude.  A  public 
discussion.  The  Act  goes  into  force.  The  conse 
quences  at  Montreal.  An  informal  delegate  sent  to  Phila- 


Contents  and  Illustrations  xvii 

PAGE 

delphia.  The  attitude  of  the  noblesse  after  the  Act  takes 
effect.  The  attitude  of  the  clergy.  Consequences  in 
Canada  of  the  capture  of  the  lake  forts.  American  efforts 
to  reassure  the  people  of  Canada.  The  effect  upon  the 
British  anti-government  party.  What  that  party  accom 
plished.  Its  final  lessons  to  the  Canadians.  It  is  uncertain 
what  turn  the  Canadians  will  take.  Carleton's  reflections. 
A  possible  solution  of  the  problem 193 

Illustrations.  P.  197*  George  III.s  (Entick,  Late  War, 
3d  ed.,  1770,  IV.,frontis.);  202,  T.  Walker  and  others, 
signatures  (Mass.  Arch.,  Vol.  193,  p.  83);  207,  *  In  Old 
Montreal  (drawn  by  R.  A.  Sproule,  1830;  lith.,  1871); 
212,  Lord  Norths  (Murray,  Present  War,  I.,  p.  96);  216, 
T.  Walker's  House.9 

CHAPTER  VIII.     CONGRESS  HESITATES  BUT  CROSSES 

Carleton  proclaims  martial  law.  How  this  is  received  by 
various  classes  in  Canada.  The  sentiment  of  the  Canadians 
at  this  time.  Method  of  enforcing  the  Proclamation.  The 
attitude  of  the  nobles.  The  Canadian  feeling  about  the 
Colonials.  Their  attitude  in  view  of  the  Proclamation. 
Carleton's  mistake.  A  minority  are  positively  friendly  to 
the  Americans,  and  anxious  to  have  an  American  army 
enter  Canada.  Impulse  among  the  Americans  to  advance. 
Carleton's  military  forces  known  to  be  weak.  Arguments 
in  favor  of  invading  Canada:  it  would  prevent  the  enemy 
from  coming  south,  make  a  diversion  favorable  to  Boston, 
prevent  Carleton  from  forcing  the  Canadians  to  take  up 
arms,  bring  the  neutral  Canadians  to  the  American  side, 
intimidate  the  hostile  there,  save  the  active  friends  of  the 
Colonials,  deprive  England  of  the  resources  of  Canada, 
and  have  a  great  effect  on  British  public  opinion.  Objec 
tions  to  the  movement  and  replies  to  them.  Congress 
decides  to  send  troops  into  Canada 220 

Illustrations.  P .  222,  Mouth  of  the  Outlet  of  Lake  George 
(photograph);  225,  Adirondacks  viewed  from  Crown 
Point  (photograph);  229,  Rev.  T.  Allen  (N.  E.  Mag.,  XV., 
p.  394);  231,  Thomas  Gage,  signatures;  234,  235,  *Hancock 
to  Washington,  June  22,  I7758;  240,  *  Secret  Journal 
of  Congress,  June  27,  1775.' 


xviii  Contents  and  Illustrations 


CHAPTER  IX.     THE  ARMY  ASSEMBLES 

Philip  Schuyler.  His  problem.  The  right  way  to  attack 
it.  His  course.  Delays  at  New  York.  Time  is  lost  by 
depending  upon  letters.  Difficulties  in  getting  troops.  The 
Green  Mountain  Boys.  Reinforcements  from  Connecticut. 
New  York  troops.  Their  inadequate  equipment.  A  lack  of 
gunpowder,  muskets,  and  lead,  and  the  attempts  to  meet  it. 
Other  embarrassments.  The  behavior  of  the  men.  Colonial 
jealousies.  The  troops  object  to  military  regulations. 
Schuyler's  nerves.  The  troops  assemble.  Educational 
value  of  the  reminiscences  of  the  district.  The  camp  life. 
The  army  gets  into  shape.  The  issue  between  Great  Britain 

and  the  Colonies  grows  sharper 2^4- 

Illustrations.  P.  245,  Philip  Schuyler  (miniature  by 
Trumbull,  1792);  253,  Rogers  Rock,  Lake  George  (photo 
graph);  256,  Sketch  in  the  Highlands;  258,  Sabbath  Day 
Point,  Lake  George  (photograph);  261,  Ticonderoga  in 
18188  (Analectic  Mag.,  1818);  265,  Ticonderoga  in  1901 
(photograph);  269,  Western  Barracks,  Ticonderoga,  in 
1901  (photograph). 

CHAPTER  X.     THE  COUNSELS  OF  THE  FOREST 

Peculiar  terrors  and  perils  of  Indian  warfare.  The  Indians 
still  capable  of  doing  great  harm.  The  near  leagues  and 
the  remote  tribes.  The  troubles  between  Great  Britain 
and  the  Colonies  deeply  exciting  to  the  savages.  They  are 
wards  of  the  government  and  open  to  many  influences  from 
that  quarter.  The  Iroquois  have  grudges  against  New 
York.  Situation  of  the  Canada  Indians.  Efforts  of  the 
Colonials  to  influence  them.  The  Stockbridges.  Their 
embassy.  Force  likely  to  be  the  prevailing  argument  with 
the  Indians.  Conflicting  signs  and  reports  of  their  attitude. 
The  outlook  becomes  clearer.  Indications  respecting  the 
western,  the  northern,  and  the  central  groups.  Gage's 
orders  to  Guy  Johnson.  Johnson's  operations.  Carleton's 
decision.  The  council  at  Albany.  Baker's  imprudence. 

General  result 2  72 

Illustrations.  P.  274,  Deerfield  Door  hacked  by  the 
Indians  (photograph);  276,  Caughnawaga  in  19030;  280, 
Israel  Putnam,  signature «;  285,  *  Eleazar  Wheelock 


Contents  and  Illustrations  xix 


(painting  belonging  to  Dartmouth  College  from  a  minia 
ture  by  Joseph  Stewart);  290,  E.  Wheelock  and  J.  Dean, 
signatures5 ;  294,  John  Johnson,  signature. 

CHAPTER  XI.     A  CAMPAIGN  OF  GOOD  INTENTIONS 

News  from  Canada  of  the  friendly  disposition  of  the 
people.  Brook  Watson's  discredited  opinion.  Brown's 
trip.  His  report.  Tidings  of  Carleton's  preparations. 
Schuyler  favors  an  advance  but  does  not  move.  He 
could  at  least  occupy  Pointe  au  Fer  or  He  aux  Noix.  He 
could  in  fact  go  to  St.  Johns.  The  explanation  of  his 
inaction.  Montgomery's  course  when  Schuyler  goes  south. 
The  army  sets  out  and  proceeds  to  He  la  Motte.  There 
Schuyler  overtakes  it,  and  all  advance  to  He  aux  Noix. 
A  letter  from  James  Livingston  of  Chambly.  Schuyler's 
address  to  the  Canadians.  A  move  to  St.  Johns.  A 
skirmish.  The  army  returns  to  He  aux  Noix.  Schuyler's 
and  British  explanations  of  the  movement.  Another 
abortive  advance.  All  return  to  He  aux  Noix.  Demoraliza 
tion  and  discouragement.  Schuyler  taken  to  the  rear,  ill..  .  304. 

Illustrations.  P.  311,  *  Montgomery's  Will  (Harper's 
Mag.,  LXX.,  p.  356);  314,  *  Schuyler  to  Congress,  Aug.  2, 
I7751;  318,  Griffin's  Affidavit? ;  321,  Montgomery's 
Sword  (photograph,  Wurtele,  ed.,  Blockade  of  Quebec, 
p.  XIII.);  323,  Rock  Dunder  (photograph);  325,  *  J. 
Livingston  to  Schuyler  [Aug.,  i775~|3;  328,  On  Lake 
Champlain  (photograph);  331,  Evening  View  of  He  La 
Motte  from  Iron  Point  9;  334,  On  Nut  Island.9 


CHAPTER  XII.     THE  CURTAIN  RISES 

Carleton's  difficult  position:  responsible  for  the  civil 
administration ;  uncertain  on  whom  he  can  depend ;  com 
pelled  to  offend  some  by  his  reserve ;  expected  to  recover 
the  lake  posts  and  to  raise  6000  Canadian  troops;  placed 
in  charge  of  the  upper  posts;  etc.  His  troops.  His  mili 
tary  policy  discussed.  The  British  force  at  St.  Johns. 
Allan  Maclean  and  his  corps.  Fort  St.  John.  Attitude  of 
the  British-Canadian  element  in  view  of  the  invasion. 
Attitude  of  the  Canadians.  Attempts  to  coerce  them. 
Taschereau.  Young  La  Corne.  Cuthbert.  Appeals  of  the 
loyalists.  The  Bishop's  influence  wanes.  The  Indians  of 


xx  Contents  and  Illustrations 


Canada  declare  for  neutrality.  Carleton  feels  abandoned, 
but  does  not  lose  heart.  The  Americans  again  resolve  upon 
a  forward  move.  Reinforcements.  Timothy  Bedel.  The 
Americans  advance  to  St.  Johns.  The  troops  are  placed  in 
good  positions.  Richard  Montgomery.  A  comparison 

between  him  and  Carleton 336 

Illustrations.  P.  339,  *  Fort  at  St.  Johns  in  19030;  345, 
*  Carleton  to  Preston,  [Aug.]  26,  [i775]3 ;  349.  *  St.  Johns 
in  1776  (Anburey,  Travels);  353,  Caughnawaga  in  1903  9; 
360,  Strings  of  Wampum  (Haines,  American  Indian, 

6497);       363,    American    Revolutionary    Arms    (Smith, 
istorie  Booke,  pp.  85,  91,  94);    369,  Montgomery's  Arms 
(Harper's  Mag.,  LXX.,  p.  352). 

CHAPTER  XIII.     ETHAN  ALLEN'S  MISTAKE 

Montgomery  realizes  the  importance  of  winning  the  con 
fidence  of  the  Canadians.  His  early  operations  at  St. 
Johns  tend  that  way,  but  an  untoward  event  has  an 
opposite  effect.  Ethan  Allen's  changed  position  in  con 
sequence  of  the  capture  of  Ticonderoga.  His  subsequent 
loss  of  prestige.  He  is  anxious  to  recover  his  ground.  He 
is  sent  into  Canada  and  wins  great  eclat  there.  Circum 
stances  take  him  to  Longueuil,  opposite  Montreal.  He 
plans  with  Brown  to  attack  the  city,  carries  out  the 
scheme  unsuccessfully  single-handed,  and  is  captured. 
Allen  peculiarly  obnoxious  to  the  British.  His  interview 
with  Prescott.  He  is  sent  to  England.  Effect  upon  the 
Canadians.  Walker  has  compromised  himself  and  Carle- 
ton  feels  that  now  he  can  safely  be  arrested.  His  appre 
hension  brutally  affected.  The  Canadians  join  the  British 

freely 371 

Illustrations.  P.  373,  E.  Allen's  House  at  Bennington 
(photograph);  376,  Allen's  House  at  Burlington  (photo 
graph);  379,  Calash;  382,  *  Allen's  Letter  announcing  the 
Capture  of  Ticonderoga  (photo,  by  Mr..  L.  E.  Woodhouse) ; 
385,  *  Montreal  about  1760  (drawing  by  Thomas  Patten, 
Chateau  de  Ramezay,  Montreal);  391,  *  Letter  from  S. 
Warner-';  394,  E.  Allen,  signature." 

CHAPTER  XIV.     EBB  AND  FLOW 

The  Canadians  have  no  disposition  to  fight  in  1775.  Not 
a  fighting  people.  The  problem  before  them  mainly  a 


Contents  and  Illustrations  xxi 


PAGE 

political  one,  and  the  influences  many  on  both  sides. 
They  are  determined  not  to  obey  the  British,  but  unde 
cided  as  to  the  Americans.  This  illogical  position  is  a 
bridge  to  the  American  side.  Confidence  is  essential,  and 
this  hinges  largely  upon  the  outcome  at  St.  Johns.  Mont 
gomery  understands  the  fact,  but  finds  his  operations  greatly 
hindered  by  the  want  of  spirit  and  the  insubordination  of 
the  troops,  and  by  the  sentiments  of  Colonial  aloofness, 
jealousy,  mutual  dislike  and  mutual  distrust  among  them. 
Fortunately  the  Canadians  do  not  realize  the  faults  of  his 
army,  and  after  all  they  begin  to  show  a  certain  loyalty  to 
the  American  cause.  The  overtures  made  by  La  Corne 
are  encouraging,  and  still  more  so  the  capture  of  Chambly, 

due  mainly  to  the   Canadians 400 

Illustrations.  P.  403,  John  Hancock  (painting  by 
Copley,  Museum  of  Fine  Arts,  Boston);  408,  409,  *  Mont 
gomery  to  Bedel,  Sept.  25,  1775  6;  41 4,  On  the  Richelieu9; 
417,  Fort  Chambly  in  19039;  422,*  Schuyler  to  Washington, 
Oct.  26,  17752;  427,  C.  Lee  to  Palfrey,  Nov.  5,  1775.3 

CHAPTER  XV.  VICTORY 

The  siege  of  St.  Johns  drags.  The  patriots  are  depressed, 
and  the  Tories  exult.  Hard  money  is  lacking.  Exertions 
are  necessary  merely  to  prevent  the  enemy  from  escaping. 
Provisions,  ammunition,  and  troops  are  hard  to  get.  The 
sick  list  is  very  large.  Montgomery's  plan  of  attack  is 
upset  by  the  protest  of  his  troops;  and  Carleton  and 
Maclean  combine  to  relieve  the  fort.  Warner's  repulse  of 
Carleton  at  Longueuil  defeats  this  scheme;  Montgomery 
pursues  his  original  plan;  and  at  length,  after  suffering 
much  from  the  siege,  the  garrison  of  St.  Johns  surrenders 
on  Nov.  2,  being  in  great  straits  and  convinced  that  there 
is  no  hope  of  relief.  The  next  day  the  Americans  take 

possession 43 1 

Illustrations.  P.  435,  *  Governor  Jonathan  Trumbull 
(portrait  by  John  Trumbull,  N.  Eng.  Mag.,  XXIII., 
frontis.);  440,  Jonathan  Trumbull,  signature;  443, 
*Schuyler  to  Washington,  Oct.  12,  1775  2;  449,  Longue 
uil9;  454,*  Schuyler  to  Washington,  Nov.  7,  17762;  458, 
John  Andr.\  signature  8 ;  461,  *  Andre's  Sketch  of  Himself 
(by  the  courtesy  of  Yale  University). 


xxii  Contents  and  Illustrations 


CHAPTER  XVI.     MORE  VICTORIES 

The  capture  of  St.  Johns  has  a  great  effect  on  people's 
minds,  but  that  post  is  only  the  gate.  It  is  important  to 
win  Montreal,  particularly  because  Carleton  is  there  and 
also  a  large  quantity  of  powder.  Operations  of  the 
Americans.  The  march  to  Laprairie.  Laprairie.  Passage 
of  the  river.  Action  of  the  suburbs  of  Montreal.  The 
fortifications  of  Montreal.  Sentiment  there.  Occupation 
of  the  city.  The  terms.  Carleton  escapes  with  his  fleet, 
troops  and  valuable  stores,  but  is  delayed  and  finally  is 
checked  by  the  Americans.  Easton's  letter  to  him. 
Brown's  ruse.  The  fleet  surrenders  and  returns  to  Mon 
treal.  Carleton's  escape. 467 

Illustrations.  P.  470,  Laprairie9;  472,  An  Old  French 
Cottage  at  Laprairie9;  475,  Montreal  viewed  from  La 
prairie;  477,  Bonsecours  Church,  Montreal  (Century 
Mag.,  XX.,  p.  564);  484,  Montgomery  to  Montreal,  Nov. 
I2»  I775  (Force,  Amer.  Archives,  Ser.  4,  Vol.  III.,  Col. 
1596);  486,  *Schuyler  to  Washington,  Nov.  18,  1776  2;  489, 
Richard  Prescott,  signature. s 

CHAPTER  XVII.     AMERICAN  ARGONAUTS 

The  camp  of  Washington's  army.  Arnold,  summoned  by 
the  Massachusetts  authorities  to  settle  his  accounts, 
arrives  there.  Attitude  of  Washington  toward  him.  The 
route  to  Canada  by  the  Kennebec.  It  is  brought  to 
Washington's  attention.  He  proposes  to  Arnold  to 
invade  Canada  that  way.  Steps  to  gain  information. 
Schuyler  is  consulted.  Arnold  grows  impatient  but  is 
induced  to  await  word  from  Schuyler.  The  expedition 
is  determined  upon.  Measures  to  secure  equipment  and 
troops.  Motives  for  volunteering  to  go.  The  riflemen. 
Preparations  and  delays.  The  detachment  marches  to 

Newburyport.     Its  stay  there.     It  sets  sail 492: 

Illustrations.  P.  493,  Nathanael  Greene,  signature; 
495,  Washington's  Headquarters,  Cambridge,  in  1906 
(photograph);  498,  From  an  Old  Map  in  the  Navy  Dept., 
Paris  (G.  Marcel,  Reproductions);  500,  *J.  Brewer's  letter9 
(Mass.  Arch.,  Vol.  146,  p.  94);  504,  Benedict  Arnold,  1776 
(a  print  pub.  in  1776  by  Thomas  Hart);  508,  *  Washing 
ton's  orders  to  Colburn  9 ;  516,  Christopher  Greene  (por- 


Contents  and  Illustration  xxiii 


trait  copied  by  Lincoln,  in  possession  of  Brown  University) ; 
518,  Dr.  Parsons's  Church,  Newburyport  (photograph). 

CHAPTER  XVIII.     INTO  THE  WILDERNESS 

The  voyage  to  the  Kennebec  is  rough  and  that  up  the 
river  tedious  and  slow.  There  are  settlements  on  the 
Kennebec  but  no  base  of  operations  exists  there.  Col- 
burn's  shipyard.  The  bateaux.  Fort  Western.  The 
expedition  is  launched  for  the  march.  Fort  Halifax.  A 
Carrying-place.  The  Five  Mile  Falls.  At  Skowhegan.  Nor- 
ridgewock  Falls.  Misfortunes  to  boats  and  provisions. 
The  wilderness  begins.  The  Great  Carrying-Place.  Con 
duct  of  the  troops  and  their  leaders.  Arnold's  responsi 
bility  and  his  measures.  Disturbing  signs 520 

Illustrations.  P.  521,  Mouth  of  the  Kennebec9;  523, 
Merrymeeting  Bay9;  526,  Site  of  Colburn's  Boatyard  9 ; 
529  Getchell  and  Berry,  signatures  9  (U.  S.  Hse.  Repres. 
Archives)  ;  529,  Arnold's  receipt  for  bateaux 9  ;  (ib.) 
53 3 »  Joseph  North  House,  Gardinerston  (Hanson,  Hist,  of 
Gardiner,  p.  86);  535,  Fort  Halifax  Blockhouse  about  1865 
(photograph);  538,  Skowhegan  Falls  9 ;  539,  Bombazee 
Rapids  9;  541,  Middle  Pitch  of  Norridgewock  Falls  9  ;  543 
Carritunk  Falls9 ;  545,  The  Kennebec  where  Arnold  left  it9 ; 
549,*  S.Adams  to  Mrs.  Adams,  Oct.  20,  1775.* 

CHAPTER  XIX.     STERN  REALITIES 

Dead  River  seems  to  end  all  troubles  but  proved  deceptive, 
for,  though  peaceful  and  beautiful,  it  is  rapid.  A  stern 
awakening  on  Oct.  16.  Why  the  provisions  give  out.  The 
great  storm  and  flood.  Difficulties  of  progressing  both  by 
water  and  by  land.  Provisions  are  lost.  Arnold  calls  a 
council  of  war.  The  decision  is  to  advance.  Measures 
adopted.  A  conference  is  called  by  Enos.  The  result  of  it. 
Upper  Dead  River  and  the  series  of  ponds.  Crossing  the 
Height  of  Land.  Rendezvous  on  Seven  Mile  Stream. 
An  agreeable  but  anxious  situation.  Preparations  to  proceed. 

News  from  Arnold,  now  in  advance 553 

Illustrations.  P.  554,  Mt.  Bigelow  viewed  from  Bog 
Brook9;  556,  Lower  Dead  River  and  Mt.  Bigelow9;  559, 
Arnold  Falls  9 ;  562,  Near  Shadagee  Falls  9 ;  568,  One  of  the 
Chain  of  Ponds9;  569,  Horseshoe  Pond9  ;  571,  Arnold 
Pond9  ;  574,  Height  of  Land  near  Arnold  Pond9;  576, 
Seven  Mile  Stream  and  the  Meadows.9 


xxiv  Contents  and  Illustrations 


CHAPTER  XX.     AT  THE  THRESHOLD  OF  DEATH 

Arnold's  warning  about  the  route.  Why  it  is  not  fully 
obeyed.  The  trap  at  Lake  Megantic.  Hard  fortune  of 
those  who  march  down  Seven  Mile  Stream.  Equally  bad 
luck  of  those  who  march  as  Arnold  directs.  Arnold's 
voyage  down  the  Chaudiere.  The  hardships  of  the  troops 
on  their  way  down  the  river.  Disasters.  Famine. 
Rescue.  Destruction  narrowly  escaped.  Attitude  of  the 
people.  Cordial  relations  between  them  and  the  Americans. 
Arnold  enrolls  Indians.  The  army  goes  on  to  St.  Mary, 

St.  Henri,  and  Point   Levi 578 

Illustrations.  P.  579,  Near  the  mouth  of  Arnold  River 
in  1903  9 ;  587,  Where  the  Chaudiere  leaves  Lake  Megantic  9 ; 
589,  On  the  Upper  Chaudiere  9 ;  593,  *The  Swift  Chaudiere9 ; 
596,  Chaudiere  Rapids9;  598,  From  Captain  Topham's 
Journal;  604,  The  Chaudiere  near  St.  Mary.9 

REMARKS 607 

LIST  OF  SOURCES.  .  621 


MAPS  IN  VOLUME  I. 

PAGE 

The  Country  between  Crown  Point  and  Albany,  1776  (Emmet 

Collection)            ........  112 

Ticonderoga  in  1759  (Palmer,  Lake  Champlain,  p.  84)     .         .  120 
Middle  Portion  of  Lake  Champlain  (Faden's  American  Atlas, 

1776) 146 

Lake  George,  1873 249 

Guy  Johnson's  Map  of  the  Country  of  the  Six  Nations,   1771 

(Winsor,  Narr.  and  Crit.  Hist.) 297 

Lower  Lake  Champlain,  etc.  (Faden's  American  Atlas,  1776)  306 

Montreal  about  1775  (from  a  contemporary  map  by  Carver)    .  479 
Arnold's  Route   .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .512 

The  Chain  of  Ponds  (based  upon  MS.  surveys)         .         .         .  565 
Arnold's  Route  from  Dead  River  to  Lake  Megantic  (based 

largely  upon  the  author's  investigations)   ....  572 

Arnold's  Route  from  the  Great  Carrying-Place  to  Quebec        .  582 
A  Portion  of  Montresor's  Map  of  1761  (Library  of  Congress)  .  584 
The  Lower  Chaudiere  (Eastern  Townships  Map  of  the  Cana 
dian  Geol.  Survey)       ........  601 


OUR    STRUGGLE    FOR   THE 
FOURTEENTH  COLONY 


INTRODUCTION 

SOON  after  the  middle  of  February,  1775,  two  months 
before  the  spring  verdure  of  Lexington  Green  sud 
denly  turned  redder  than  autumn,  the  Boston  Committee 
of  Correspondence  held  a  session  in   its  usual  place  of 
meeting,  Faneuil  Hall.1 

Certainly  the  name  of  this  body  could  not  be  called 
sensational.  It  reminds  one  of  the  genial  and  dignified 
personage  who  figures,  as  Corresponding  Secretary,  among 
the  sedate  officials  of  many  learned  societies  ;  and  when 
Mr.  Samuel  Adams — rising  in  the  Town  Meeting, 
November  the  second,  1772,  at  about  half-past  three 
of  the  clock— moved  that  a  Committee  of  twenty-one 

SPECIAL   NOTE. — A  footnote  marked  §  contains  references  covering  the 


sioners,  and  others  that  will  be  understood  at  once.  Id.  means  the  same  per 
son; '-Co.,  the  same  place ;  Force,  Force's  American  Archives;  Can.  Arch.,  Cana 
dian  Archives  (MSS.),  Ottawa;  Pub.  Kec.  Off.,  Public  Record  Office,  London 
For  further  explanations  regarding  the  footnotes,  etc.,  see  the  Preface.  For 
the  full  titles,  etc.,  of  books  referred  to,  see  the  List  of  Sources  at  the  end  of 
this  volume.  For  the  sources  of  the  illustrations,  see  the  Table  of  Contents. 
The  REMARKS  will  be  found  at  the  end  of  the  text  in  each  volume. 

1  §  The  duty  of  opening  correspondence  with  Canada  was  referred  to  this 
Com.  by  the  Mass.  Prov.  Cong,  (see  Journal,  p.  100)  on  Feb.  15,  and,  as  will 
appear  in  Chap.  I.,  the  Com.  acted  within  a  week.  Frothingham  Warren 
p.  446. 

I 


2      Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

persons  be  chosen,  'to  state  the  rights  of  the  Colonists, 
and  of  this  Province  in  particular,  as  Men,  as  Christians, 

and  as  Subjects,'  and  to  ex 
change  opinions  and  news  with 
other  towns,  probably  no  one 
except  himself  suspected  how 
much  this  action  might  signify.2 
The  world  soon  began  to 
learn,  however.  There  are 
places  where  a  word  brings 

FANEUIL  HALL  IN   1775  110^1. 

down  an  avalanche.     So  there 

are  times  when  an  exchange  of  views  means  a  revolution, 
and  this  happened  to  be  such  a  time.  Within  three  years, 
a  contributor  to  the  Massachusetts  Gazette  wrote  of  the 
Committee  of  Correspondence,  '  This  is  the  foulest,  subt 
lest  and  most  venomous  serpent  that  ever  issued  from 
the  eggs  of  sedition.'  '  The  source  of  the  rebellion,'  cried 
many  a  Tory  in  high  wrath;  and  Bancroft  has  echoed:  It 
'  included  the  whole  revolution.'  It  was,  in  the  strictest 
reality,  a  secret  but  mighty  engine,  this  modest  body; 
and  before  it  lay  just  now  perhaps  the  gravest  concern  it 
had  ever  handled,— one  that  certainly  had  a  long  outlook 
both  in  time  and  in  space.3 

How  many  of  the  members  attended  that  day  one  can 
not  be  sure  ;  for,  if  any  records  of  the  session  were  kept, 
they  have  disappeared.  James  Otis,  that  tongue  of  fire, 
had  been  the  chairman  ;  but  his  spirit  had  badly  shattered 
its  earthen  vessel,  and  at  his  own  request  his  name  had 
been  removed  from  the  list.  Josiah  Quincy  could  not  aid 
with  his  ripened  wisdom  ;  for  his  voyage  in  search  of 
health  had  failed,  and  he  was  now  about  sailing  from 
England,  to  breathe  his  last  off  Cape  Ann  in  sight  of  his 

2  §  Boston  Town  Records,  1770-1777,  p.  92- 

3  S  Mass  Gazette  ('Massachusettsensis'),  Jan.  2,  1775.    Frothingham,  War 
ren,  p   200.    Bancroft,  U.  S.  (N.  Y.,  1883),  III.,  p.  420  (of  Adams's  motion). 


A  Significant  Meeting  3 

beloved  native  land.  Very  likely  Oliver  Wendell,  the 
grandfather  of  our  poet- wit,  had  come ;  Thomas  Young, 
John  Adams's  physician,  may  have  driven  down  in  his 
gig;  and  perhaps  Dr.  Benjamin  Church,  who  had  stanched 
the  blood  of  Crispus  Attucks,  could  afford  to  leave  his 
elegant  mansion  in  Raynham.  One  can  only  be  sure 
that  seven  members  at  least  answered  at  the  roll-call;  for 
the  town,  mindful  that  hours  were  precious  and  engage 
ments  many,  had  fixed  that  number  as  a  quorum.4 

And  yet  this  is  by  no  means  all  that  is  morally  certain. 
Whether  Young  and  Church  appeared  or  not,  a  certain 
other  physician  came  over  from  his  house  in  Hanover 
Street,  no  matter  what  called  him  elsewhere.  A  fascinat 
ing  type  was  he, — quick,  impulsive,  lovable,  hatable. 
All  that  marked  the  cultured  and  easy  man  of  the  world, 
he  suggested;  yet  his  elegance  counted  little  beside  the 
spirit  and  the  patriotism  that  spoke  from  his  eloquent 
face  and  flashing  eyes.  It  was  he,  the  funeral  orator  of  the 
Boston  Massacre,  who  quietly  dropped  his  handkerchief 
over  the  handful  of  bullets  which  a  British  officer  held 
up  at  him  as  he  spoke  in  the  Old  South  Church,  and  went 
on  without  a  tremor  in  his  impassioned  plea  for  liberty. 
Warren  was  his  name:  Dr.  Joseph  Warren,  the  Martyr  of 
Bunker  Hill.5 

And  a  man  still  more  notable  was  there.  In  good 
season  at  the  rendezvous,  came  'a  plain,  simple,  decent 
citizen,  of  middling  stature,'  or  perhaps  a  little  above  it, 
in  a  red  cloak,  a  cocked  hat,  and  a  tie-wig.  To  be  an 
elegant  man  of  the  world  seemed  far  from  his  thought. 
Indeed,  he  appeared  to  despise,  or  at  least  shun,  all 
display  and  luxury,  and  to  deserve  the  name  that  has 
been  given  him,  'Last  of  the  Puritans.'  Yet  his  florid 

4  §  Otis-  Boston  Town  Records,  Dec.  30,  1774.  Quincy  :  Coring,  Orators, 
p.  259;  Young:  ib .,  p.  26;  Church:  ib.,  p.  37.  Quorum  :  Boston  Town 
Records,  Dec.  7,  1774. 

s  §  Coring,  Orators,  p.  60.     Frothingham,  Warren,  pp.  15,  26, 166,  etc. 


4      Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

countenance  hinted  of  blood  in  the  heart;  his  heavy  brows 
lightened  with  pleasure  as  each  of  his  colleagues  entered 
the  room;  and  he  greeted  them,  one  by  one,  in  a  cordial, 
though  in  truth  somewhat  formal  style.  This  was  Samuel 
Adams.6 

It  had  been  proposed  that  the  Committee  extend  its  field 
to  Canada, — the  province  of  Quebec,  it  was  then  called; 
and  immediate  action  seemed  in  order.  The  step  was 
evidently  important,  though  its  importance  appeared  to 
grow  as  it  was  dwelt  upon;  and  very  naturally  the  con 
sideration  of  it  opened  the  way  to  long  views  and  a  broad 
discussion  on  the  state  of  the  country. 

What  Warren  said,  can  be  gathered  quite  well  from  his 
recorded  utterances: — 'Our  existence  as  a  free  people  de 
pends  absolutely  on  acting  with  spirit  and  vigor.  The 
ministry  are  even  yet  doubtful  whether  we  are  in  earnest 
when  we  declare  our  resolution  to  preserve  our  liberty; 
and  the  common  people  in  Britain  are  made  to  believe  that 
we  are  a  nation  of  noisy  cowards.  Even  those  who  wish 
us  well  dare  not  openly  declare  for  us,  lest  we  should 
meanly  desert  ourselves,  and  leave  them  alone  to  contend 
with  Administration;  who,  they  know,  will  be — politically 
speaking — omnipotent  if  America  should  submit  to  them. 
If  America  sees  better  days,  it  must  be  the  result  of  her 
own  conduct.  We  have  had  such  full  demonstration  of 
their  diabolical  designs  against  us,  that  we  can  look  for 
nothing  from  them  but  what  our  own  virtue  and  spirit 
can  extort.  It  is  barely  possible  that  Britain  may 
depopulate  North  America,  but  I  trust  in  God  she  can 
never  conquer  the  inhabitants.  Our  cause  is  just;  and 
we  are  so  sensible  how  necessary  it  is  to  defend  it,  that 
I  have  no  doubt,  but,  with  the  blessing  of  heaven  upon 
us,  and  upon  the  many  good  friends  engaged  for  us,  we 


6  §  j.  Adams,  Works,  X.,  p.  251.    Wells,  S.  Adams,  II.,  p  211  ;  III.,  p.  335. 
Frothingham,  Warren,  p.  26. 


JOSEPH   WARREN 


Joseph  Warren  7 

shall  be  able  to  hold  on  and  hold  out  until  oppression, 
injustice  and  tyranny  shall  be  superseded  by  freedom, 
justice  and  good  government.  America  must  and  will 
be  free.  The  voice  of  our  fathers'  blood  cries  to  us  from 
the  ground,  "  My  sons,  scorn  to  be  slaves  !  "  The  contest 
may  be  severe,  the  end  will  be  glorious.'  7 

Warming  as  he  developed  his  ideas,  Warren  glowed 
before  he  was  through  like  a  coal  from  the  altar;  and  the 
slender  company  thrilled  profoundly  with  that  sense  of 
majesty  and  awful  earnestness  which  never  failed  to  make 
the  assembly  shiver,  when  he— as  President  of  the  Provin 
cial  Congress — gave  the  officers  their  commissions  and 
their  charge.8 

Then  Adams  spoke,  moving  his  little  audience  no  less, 
though  in  a  different  way.  One  point  was  evident,  he 
thought.  If  the  Colonies  were  merely  to  kneel  and  peti 
tion  at  the  foot  of  the  throne,  the  presence  of  Quebec 
among  them  would  add  power  to  their  voice.  But  that 
was  not  all.  'The  plan  of  the  British  Court,  as  I  have 
been  well  informed  this  winter,  is  to  take  possession  of 
New  York,  make  themselves  masters  of  Hudson's  River 
and  the  Lakes,  cut  off  all  communication  between  the 
Northern  and  Southern  Colonies,  and  employ  the  Cana 
dians,  upon  whom  they  greatly  rely,  in  distressing  the 
frontiers  of  New  England.' 9 

From  this  premise,  the  orator  went  on  with  rising  force, 
clearing  the  vision  of  his  colleagues  as  Elisha  opened  the 
eyes  of  his  servant. 

'It  requires  but  a  small  portion  of  the  gift  of  prophecy 
for  any  one  to  foresee  that  Providence  will  erect  a  mighty 
empire  in  America;  and  our  posterity  will  have  it  recorded 


7§  The  language  of  Warren:   Frothingham,  Warren,  pp.  33,  177,  381,  392, 
393,  396,  4M. 

8  Frothingham,  Warren,  p.  33. 

9  S.  Adams  to   Bowdoin,  Nov.  16,  1775:   Proc.  Mass.   Hist    Soc.,  ist  Ser., 
XII.,  p.  227. 


8      Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

in  history  that  their  forefathers  emigrated  from  an  island 
in  a  distant  part  of  the  world,  the  inhabitants  of  which 
had  long  been  revered  for  wisdom  and  valour.  They  grew 
rich  and  powerful:  these  emigrants  [also]  increased  in 
numbers  and  strength.  But  they  were  at  last  absorbed 
in  luxury  and  dissipation;  and,  to  support  themselves  in 
their  vanity  and  extravagance,  they  coveted  and  seized  the 
honest  earnings  of  those  industrious  emigrants.  This 
laid  a  foundation  of  distrust,  animosity  and  hatred,  till  the 
emigrants,  feeling  their  own  vigor  and  independence, 
dissolved  every  bond  of  connection  between  them.1" 

'We  are  to  be  a  nation  and  a  great  one.  To  be 
prosperous  we  must  have  an  extensive  trade.  This  will 
require  a  respectable  navy.  Our  ships  must  be  manned, 
and  the  source  of  seamen  is  the  fishery.  Nova  Scotia  and 
Canada  would  be  a  great  and  permanent  protection  to  the 
fishery.  And  further,  the  possession  of  these  territories 
would  prevent  any  view  of  Britain  to  disturb  our  peace  in 
the  future  and  [would]  cut  off  an  important  source  of 
corrupt  British  influence. ' ' 

Without  the  slightest  sign  of  affectation,  the  plain  citizen 
of  a  moment  ago  had  now  assumed  an  air  of  dignity  and 
even  majesty.  His  melodious  voice,  tuned  by  a  rarely 
musical  ear,  charmed  the  small  circle;  his  head,  though 
already  trembling  with  the  palsy,  wore  somehow  a  look  of 
extraordinary  meaning;  his  dark  blue  eyes  shone  with  a 
prophet's  enthusiasm;  and  his  outstretched  arm,  which 
had  overawed  Governor  Hutchinson  after  the  Massacre, 
seemed  clothed  with  more  than  human  power.  His 


i  o  S.  Adams  to  A.  Lee  :  Apr.  4,  1774  :  4  Force,  I  ,  238. 

1 1 S  S.  Adams  to  Cooper,  Apr.  29,  i?79 :  S.  Adams  Papers  A  few  slight 
changes  have  been  made.  Though  this  letter  was  written  later  it  seems 
highly  probable,  in  view  of  Adams's  large  hopes  for  his  country  and  his  deep 
interest  in  Canada,  that  it  represents  his  views  in  1775  Long  before  the 
outbreak  of  hostilities  '  Adams  and  Warren  had  '  concerted  plans  for  the 
acquisition  of  Canada  (Wells,  S.  Adams,  II.,  p.  340).  As  the  reader  will  per 
haps  infer  from  Chap.  III.,  other  points  also  may  have  been  dwelt  upon  by 
Warren  and  Adams. 


SAMUEL   ADAMS 


Samuel  Adams  1 1 

arguments, — combining  warm  patriotism,  diplomatic 
wisdom,  military  prudence,  and  statesmanlike  fore 
sight,  —  backed  up  with  such  eloquence  and  such  a 
personality  electrified  the  Committee  ;  and  in  this 
spirit  it  set  its  face  toward  its  work:  Canada  must  be 
won. 12 

Certain  facts  added  immensely  to  the  importance  of  this 
decision.  Adams's  influence  reached  far  beyond  those 
walls.  He  has  been  called  the  Father  of  the  Revolution, 
and  not  without  reason.  Wherever  the  spirit  of  the  move 
ment  should  go,  his  ideas  were  to  fly  on  the  same  wings; 
and  among  them  his  views  about  Canada.  Nor  were  they 
to  travel  unattended.  Adams  possessed  a  rare  gift,  the 
power  of  making  others  his  spokesmen  without  their 
knowing  it;  and  for  many  years  this  power  had  been  used 
unceasingly  in  the  cause  of  America.  From  1758  to  1775, 
said  John  Adams,  'he  made  it  his  constant  rule  to  watch 
the  rise  of  every  brilliant  genius,  to  seek  his  acquaintance, 
to  court  his  friendship,  to  cultivate  his  natural  feelings  in 
favor  of  his  native  country,  to  warn  him  against  the  hostile 
designs  of  Great  Britain,  and  to  fix  his  affections  and 
reflections  on  the  side  of  his  native  country.'  Even  the 
rich  John  Hancock,  dashing  past  in  his  gold-laced  hat, 
embroidered  waistcoat,  scarlet  coat,  and  ruffled  sleeves, 
with  a  coachman  and  a  footman  bespangled  with  silver,  and 
six  beautiful  bays  to  draw  it  all,— even  he,  though  not 
aware  of  the  fact,  owed  his  patriotism  largely  to  a  cer 
tain  plain  fellow  on  the  curb  following  him  with  a 
lustrous  eye.  Several  of  these  young  men  were  now 
leaders  among  the  patriots,  and  they  could  hardly  fail  to 
reflect  the  views  of  their  political  father  on  a  point  he 
deemed  highly  important.  He  and  they  led  Massachu- 


1 2  §  j.  Adams,  Works,  X.,  p.  251.    Wells,  S.  Adams,  II.,  p.  408;  III.,  p.  335. 
Before  Hutchinson  :  ib.,  I.,  p.  323 


1 2    Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

setts  ;  and  all  have  recognized  the  share  of  Massachusetts 
in  guiding  the  Revolution.13 

'Short-sighted  mortals  see  not  the  numerous  links  of 
small  and  great  events  which  form  the  chain  on  which 
the  fate  of  kings  and  nations  is  suspended,'  wrote  Joseph 
Warren  ;  and  before  long  this  truth  was  to  be  illustrated 
most  astonishingly  by  the  course  of  policy  set  moving  in 
the  chamber  at  Faneuil  Hall.  But  the  beginning  seemed 
very  simple.  Adams  and  his  colleagues  felt  they  knew 
what  they  were  going  to  do.  Their  action  was  deliberate. 
No  chance,  no  mere  accident  carried  the  American  revolt 
into  Canada,  but  a  set  purpose:  a  set  purpose  to  win  the 
fourteenth  Colony.  And  what  that  meant  was  to  gain 
the  whole  of  British  America  north  of  New  England,  New 
York,  and  the  Ohio  River,  to  gain  waves  bound  to  be  the 
school  of  hardy  seamen,  and  to  gain  ocean  areas  filled  with 
a  shining  wealth  of  cod  and  mackerel. 

Extraordinary  turns  of  fortune  both  aided  and  hindered 
the  working  out  of  this  design.  Bold,  sagacious,  and 
also  mistaken  plans,  brilliant  and  also  blundering  action, 
the  deeds  of  heroes  and  the  sufferings  of  martyrdom, 
dramatic  successes  and  no  less  dramatic  failures  marked 
the  course  of  events  ;  and  all  these,  together  with  the  flow 
and  ebb  of  sentiment  among  an  almost  voiceless  people,  it 
is  our  present  endeavor  to  trace. 

1 3  §  j.  Adams,  Works,  X.,  p.  364.    Coring,  Orators,  pp.  105,  106  ;  Nat.  Port. 
Gall.,  I.  (J.  Hancock). 


ROOTS  OF  BITTERNESS 

WHAT  sort  of  lodgment  was  the  spark  of  revolution 
to  find  in  Canada  ?  A  wall  of  ice  would  extinguish 
it ;  a  thatched  roof  would  take  fire  ;  a  magazine  of  gun 
powder  would  explode. 

October  the  third,  1535,  a  water- fowl  never  seen  before 
in  that  region  slowly  ascended  the  upper  St.  L,awrence 
River,  exciting  the  infinite  wonder  of  every  Indian  along 
the  shores.  Far  larger  than  any  war  canoe,  with  a  great 
spread  of  grey  cloth  and  black  ropes  in  lieu  of  plumage, 
it  sailed  on  without  the  aid  of  hands.1 

The  strange  bird  was,  of  course,  a  European  ship  ;  and 
at  the  prow  a  Breton  captain,  one  Jacques  Cartier,  who 
always  looked  intensely  active,  whether  he  moved  or 
stood  still,  gave  what  orders  were  necessary  to  catch  the 
wind  or  to  avoid  the  shoals  and  currents.  Meanwhile,  not 
only  with  his  piercing  eyes  but  with  every  one  of  his  keen 
features,  even  to  the  sharp  beard  on  his  long  chin,  he 
seemed  to  sweep  the  immense  black  forests  that  rose  to  a 
climax  in  a  small  mountain  on  his  right,  and  to  examine 
the  water  and  the  shore  with  a  peculiar  attention.  About 
here  ought  to  be  Hochelaga,  he  thought— the  Indian  town 
of  which  he  had  been  told  below. 

Finally  he  decided  to  land;  and  then,  with  his  little 
band  of  soldiers,  he  marched  on  about  a  couple  of  leagues 


Cartier,  Bref  R.€cit,  p.  25. 

13 


14  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

through  the  silken  rustle  and  the  golden  gleams  of  ripe 
cornfields,  found  the  one  narrow  opening  in  a  triple  wall 
of  palisades,  and  advanced  between  longish  wooden  cabins 
roofed  with  bark  to  an  open  space  in  their  midst.  With 
curious  but  wary  glances  he  looked  about  him.  What 
was  the  hidden  but  watchful  village  thinking,  he 
wondered.  Were  these  fair-skinned  intruders  in  glitter 
ing  armor  looked  upon  as  enemies  and  wizards,  to  be 
seized,  if  possible,  and  tortured?  Or,  coming  from  the 
East  in  flashing  vesture,  were  they  to  be  reverenced  as 
children  of  the  sun  ?  Suddenly,  wrote  Cartier  in  his  Brief 
Account,  suddenly  the  women  and  children  came  pouring 
into  the  open  space,  many  bringing  babes  in  their  arms. 
With  trembling  fingers  they  stroked  the  faces,  hands,  and 
shoulders  of  the  Frenchmen,  'weeping  with  joy  '  to  see 
them,  and  making  signs  that  they  should  touch  the  little 
ones.  So  auspiciously  ended  the  first  voyage  'into 
Canada.2 

After  two  generations  had  passed,  other  French 
vessels  turned  their  prows  against  the  current  of  the 
St.  Lawrence  (1603),  and  the  history  of  the  region  began. 
Near  Tadousac,  where  the  noble  Saguenay  came  in, 
Champlain,  the  hero  of  the  expedition,  held  a  council 
with  the  savages  on  a  shore  sprinkled  with  the  blossoms 
of  a  northern  May  ;  and,  while  the  Sagamore  gravely 
declared  that  he  was  glad  the  French  were  coming  to  till 
their  lands  and  fight  their  enemies,  his  braves,  crying 
'  Ho,  ho,  ho  !  '  in  a  wild  chorus  of  approval,  danced 
joyously  before  the  strangers,  brandishing  the  heads  of 
defeated  Iroquois,  their  mortal  foes.  Champlain  was  a 
man  of  small  stature  but  lofty  spirit,  and  behind  his  calm 
face  a  lion's  courage  slept;  yet  even  he  would  have  drawn 
back  from  this  alliance,  had  he  known  what  it  meant. 

2  §  Cartier,  Bref  Recit,  p.  25.  See  Bosworth,  Hochelaga  Depicta,  p.  21.  The 
allusions  to  the  personal  appearance  of  early  Canadians  are  based  on  portraits 
or  statues  of  recognized  worth. 


JACQ    ES  CARTIER 


The  Beginnings  of  Canada  17 

But  he  did  not  know.  Repressed  on;  retraced  the  voyage 
of  Cartier  ;  led  a  fleet  of  Algonquin  and  Huron  war  canoes 
across  the  lake  that  now  bears  his  name;  routed  the 
Iroquois  with  fire  and  thunder  still  farther  south  ;  toiled 
almost  a  generation  for  Canada  ;  and  finally — bequeathing 
to  the  land  he  loved  a  deadly  feud  as  well  as  an  immortal 
fame — laid  his  worn-out  body  on  its  earth.3 

After  him  the  pioneers  came  faster.  Those  were  the 
days  of  the  Jesuit  missionaries  :  among  them  towering 
Brebceuf,  whose  enthusiasm  would  not  have  shrunk  from 
the  necklace  of  red-hot  tomahawks  that  was  in  store  for 
him,  had  he  foreseen  it,  and  his  comrade  Lalemant,  almost 
too  feeble  to  live  but  strong  enough  to  die  in  tortures 
without  a  murmur.  Little  by  little,  settlers  reinforced  the 
explorers  ;  the  black  forests  were  pierced  with  spots  of 
light ;  the  wigwam  found  itself  overshadowed  by  the 
house  ;  fields  grew,  and  churches  multiplied  ;  and  the 
struggle  for  wealth  supplemented,  though  it  could  not 
supersede,  the  struggle  for  existence.4 

Early  in  the  lyth  century,  Richelieu  turned  his  eyes 
this  way,  and  entrusted  the  region  to  a  Company  of  One 
Hundred  Associates.  But  no  trading  concern  has  been 
able  to  manage  an  empire  ;  and  Louis  XIV.,  on  the  advice 
of  his  great  minister  Colbert,  made  Canada  a  royal 
province  (1663).  The  white  flag  of  the  Bourbons  floated 
now  from  the  Castle  of  St.  Louis  at  Quebec.  A  gov 
ernor,  covered  with  gold  lace,  held  court  and  issued 
orders  there.  An  intendant  in  black  looked  sharply  after 
the  King's  interests,  and  made  them — far  too  literally 
sometimes — hb  own.  Laval,  with  the  eyes  of  a  soldier, 
the  nose  of  a  statesman,  and  the  lips  of  a  priest,  ushered 


3  §  Champlain,  CEuvres,  II.,  p.  6.  Th?  alliance  against  the  Iroquois  became 
effective  in  1609,  but  Champlain's  policy  was  indicated  here  in  1603. 

4§  As  the  brief  sketch  of  early  Canadian  history  aims  merely  to  tell  what 
is  already  known,  references  are  given  only  in  special  cases.  Parkman's 
works  are  the  principal  authority. 


i8  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

in  a  long  line  of  bishops.  Orders  and  ranks  were  estab 
lished  ;  soldiers  in  straight  lines  marched  to  the  frontier  ; 
and,  in  short,  Canada  took  on  more  and  more  the  style  of 
New  France. 

During  the  last  quarter  of  the  century,  Frcntenac — a 
terrible  figure  of  bronze,  with  lips  parted  for  high  words 
and  an  arm  outstretched  to  command  or  to  strike  —  made 
the  province  not  only  respected  but  feared.  Enemies  were 
faithfully  scourged,  friends  reinforced,  and  obstacles 
battered.  And  finally,  in  the  century  that  followed,  the 
witty  and  courtly  Montcalm,  though  he  struggled  in  vain, 
almost  defeated  fate  with  his  gallantry  and  almost  hid 
disaster  with  his  glory.  With  him  concluded  the  story 
of  New  France,  and  the  line  of  its  brilliant  leaders  ended. 

Now  the  first  look  below  the  surface  discovered,  all 
through  this  period,  unrest,  agitation,  discord,  and  war. 

The  inevitable  Indian  troubles  were  peculiarly  dreadful, 
because  the  fierce  Iroquois  took  sides  against  the  French. 
War-parties  hurried  north  by  the  Richelieu  River  so 
persistently  that  people  named  the  stream  Riviere  des 
Iroquois 5 ;  while  other  fleets  of  canoes,  packed  with  naked 
savages,  bounded  down  the  rapids  of  the  St.  Lawrence 
above  Montreal.  Every  trick  of  Indian  cunning  and 
every  horror  of  Indian  ferocity  joined  hands  against  the 
friends  of  the  detested  Huron.  Many  and  many  a  night, 
when  the  moon  was  clear,  a  nun,  looking  sharply  into  the 
bushes  of  the  convent  garden  at  Montreal,  could  see  a 
painted  Mohawk  squatting  patiently  there,  to  tomahawk 
the  first  comer  at  sunrise;  and  once  a  war-party  dashed 
past  the  guns  of  Quebec,  slaughtered  some  friendly  Indians 
on  the  Island  of  Orleans,  and  paddled  back,  without 
receiving  a  shot  from  the  terrified  garrison.  A  throng  of 
candidates  for  martyrdom  came  over  from  Europe.  Now 
and  then  one  failed  to  die,  but  sufferings  worse  than  death 

5  Dawson,  North  America,  p.  302. 


Unrest  in  Canada  21 

usually  consoled  his  disappointment;  and  abroad  scheme 
of  empire,  the  masterpiece  of  Jesuit  enterprise,  courage, 
and  policy,  fell  shattered  under  the  tomahawk  of  the 
Iroquois.6 

Along  the  southern  border  lay  the  British  colonies,  and 
the  traditional  hatreds  of  the  Hundred  Years  War  seemed 
reinforced  here  by  the  clash  of  irreconcilable  ambitions. 
These  half-wild  provinces,  outposts  always  in  touch  with 
each  other,  were  the  representatives  of  jealous  powers. 
They  could  easily  be  driven  into  conflict  by  the  mighty 
forces  behind;  and,  year  after  year,  the  pile  of  animosities 
grew  constantly  higher  both  north  and  south  of  the  line. 

Four  serious  and  regular  wars  lighted  their  flames 
along  the  border.  Scarcely  a  village  on  the  frontier  of 
New  Hampshire  and  Massachusetts  was  left  unscathed 
by  the  French  and  Indians;  the  outskirts  of  New  York 
suffered  the  same  horrors ;  and  spots  of  blood  and  ashes 
reached  far  toward  the  centres  of  population.  Sleeping 
Saratoga  and  Schenectady  were  burned.  Just  before 
sunrise  one  morning,  the  red  devils  and  their  white  allies 
dropped  over  the  stockade  of  peaceful  Deerfield.  Men 
were  knocked  on  the  head  close  to  Northampton.  A 
scalping-party  appeared  at  Dover.  Bravely  but  in  vain 
tall  Sergeant  Hawks  tried  to  defend  Number  Four.  At 
Keene  a  savage  opened  hostilities  by  thrusting  his  long 
knife  into  an  old  lady's  back.  A  captive  was  roasted  alive 
at  Exeter.  Casco  Bay  resounded  with  savage  yells  and 
with  cries  of  agony.  The  smoke  of  Brunswick  rolled  far 
across  the  sky.7 

During  three  months  of  the  dark  year  1746,  thirty-five 
Canadian  bands  ravaged  the  border.  In  1757  Dieskau, 
skimming  Lake  Champlain  and  Lake  George  with  a  swift 


6  Parkman,  Jesuits,  Chap.  XXXIV. 

7§  See  particularly  Parkman,   Half  Century,  passim.     Number  Four   was 
Charlestowii,  N.H. 


22  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

fleet  of  birch  canoes,  set  a  bloody  ambush  for  the  Pro 
vincials  on  the  soil  of  New  York.  Montcalm  did  still 
more.  Day  after  day  he  chanted  the  war-song  at  Montreal 
with  the  braves  of  thirty- three  tribes.  They  came  to  love 
him  more  than  life  itself ;  and,  when  he  saw  the  fire  blaze 
high  in  their  eyes,  he  stopped  the  song  and  led  them 
toward  the  south.  On  the  sixth  day,  they  found  the 
ramparts  of  Ticonderoga  linking  the  blue  of  the  heavens 
to  the  deeper  blue  of  the  lake  ;  and  then,  twisting  through 
the  woods,  they  stole  in  silence  across  the  smooth  waters 
of  Lake  George.  Fort  William  Henry  fell ;  and  that 
massacre  followed,  which  set  an  edge  of  steel  on  the  hearts 
of  the  Colonists.7 

But  the  contest  had  two  sides.  In  1712,  Dummers 
wrote,  '  I  am  sure  it  has  been  the  cry  of  the  whole  country 
ever  since  Canada  was  delivered  up  to  the  French,  Canada 
est  delenda'  'Canada  must  be  demolished — Delenda 
est  Carthago — or  we  are  undone! '  cried  Governor  Living 
ston  of  New  Jersey  in  1756.  *  Long  had  it  been  the 
common  opinion,  Delenda  est  Carthago,  Canada  must  be 
conquered,'  attested  a  pastor  of  the  Old  South  Church  in 
Boston.  And  attempts,  not  few,  were  made  to  fulfill  the 
threat.  Over  and  over  again  expeditions  moved  north 
against  Quebec,  and  twice  that  proud  rock  felt  the  tread 
of  conquerors.  British  and  Provincial  troops,  hacking 
their  way  through  the  forests  of  Acadia,  seized  Port 
Royal.  Grand  Pre  changed  masters  three  times,  but 
remained  in  Saxon  hands.  With  banners  carried  high, 
Pepperell  and  his  bold  farmer  lads  marched  through 
the  Dauphin  Gate  of  Louisburg,  the  French-Canadian 
Gibraltar.  The  Jesuit  mission  on  the  Kennebec  ended  in 
fire  and  blood.  Dieskau  fell  bleeding  from  four  wounds, 
and  many  an  Indian  cabin  at  the  north  was  darkened  by 
his  failure.  Montcalm  perished,  and  Vaudreuil  surren 
dered.  The  drum  and  war-cry,  the  song  of  triumph  and 


Unrest  in  Canada  23 

wail  of  disaster  seemed  as  natural  in  Canada  as  the  roar 
of  its  northeast  gales.8 

Troubles  at  home  co-operated  with  hostilities  abroad 
in  creating  a  tradition  of  unrest.  Quebec  demanded  that 
Montreal  should  deal  with  Europe  only  through  her 
warehouses,  but  Montreal  tempted  the  red-man  with 
trinkets  and  brandy  to  carry  no  furs  beyond  Mont  Royal. 
Quebec,  the  Jesuit  citadel,  intrigued,  threatened,  and  tri 
umphed  against  the  Sulpician  fathers  of  the  upper  capital. 
Young  men  by  the  hundreds,  defying  the  orders  of  the 
Crown,  left  their  ploughs  and  mattocks  rusting  in  the 
ground,  threw  themselves  headlong  into  the  adventures 
and  license  of  trade  in  the  wilderness,  and  returned  now 
and  then,  with  their  savage  comrades,  to  demoralize  the 
towns  with  the  swagger,  devil-may-care,  and  orgies  of  the 
wild  coureur  de  bois.* 

Church  and  State  sometimes  found  themselves  rivals, — 
even  enemies.  The  castle  scowled  fiercely  at  the  bishop's 
palace;  ecclesiastics  defied  the  orders  of  the  King's  rep 
resentative  ;  and  once,  it  was  said,  a  priest  ventured  to 
preach  openly  against  the  Governor  and  the  Intendant  as 
*  a  pair  of  toadstools  sprung  up  in  the  night.'10  Neither 
could  these  two  officials  get  on  well  together.  The 
Governor,  standing  for  the  person  of  the  sovereign  and 
the  majesty  of  the  Crown,  found  himself  checked  and 
spied  upon  by  the  bustling  man  in  black,  the  business 
agent  of  the  colony,  so  to  speak,  who  administered 
justice,  drew  the  purse-strings,  and  made  reports. 

The  royal  authority  seeuied  as  absolute  as  Louis  XIV. 
could  contrive.  In  1671,  Paul  Dupuy  expressed  the 
opinion  that  the  English  did  a  good  thing  when  they  cut 


8  §  Livingston  and  Fpxcroft :   Parkman,  Montcalm,  I.,  p.  419;  II.,  p.  377. 
Paltsits,  Scheme.    See  Shirley's  speech  :  Paltsits,  Scheme,  p.  16. 

9  §  Parkman,   Old    Regime,  pp.  339,  98,  104,   400,  360,  361,  etc.     Dussieux 
Canada,  p.  22. 

10  Parkman,  Old  Regime,  p.  383. 


24  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

off  the  head  of  Charles  I. ;  and  for  this  and  some  other  such 
remarks,  after  lodging  awhile  in  prison,  he  was  dragged  to 
the  Governor's  door  in  his  shirt,  with  a  rope  around  his 
neck  and  a  torch  in  his  hand,  to  ask  pardon;  was  then 
sent  over  to  the  pillory  to  be  branded  on  the  cheek  with 
the  royal  fleur-de-lis;  sat  for  half  an  hour  in  the  stocks  at 
the  mercy  of  the  unmerciful;  and  finally,  loaded  with 
irons,  found  himself  back  in  the  prison.  Yet  even  such 
authority  as  this  did  not  feel  secure;  and,  near  the  close 
of  the  French  regime,  an  intendant  complained  that  more 
regulars  were  needed  to  keep  the  people  down.11 

In  the  middle  of  the  i8th  century  arrived  the  grand 
crisis  of  Canadian  history.  On  the  Plains  of  Abraham 
(1759),  a  tall  man  whose  wasted  frame,  comical  face,  and 
short  red  hair — laughable  even  in  his  mother's  eyes — 
clothed  a  spirit  superior  to  pain  and  weakness,  dealt  a  mortal 
blow  at  the  empire  of  France, — and  perhaps  at  that  of 
England,  also, — in  North  America;  and  soon,  by  the 
capitulation  of  Montreal  (1760), 12  Canada  fell  entirely  into 
English  hands.  Old  things  did  not  pass  away  then,  but 
they  were  changed.  All  things  did  not  become  new,  but 
foreign  elements  began  to  mingle  with  what  already 
existed  there;  and  the  problem  of  governing  the  conquered 
brought  a  measure  of  vengeance  upon  the  conquerors. 

So  long  as  the  strife  between  Great  Britain  and  France 
continued,  Murray,  one  of  the  British  generals,  ruled 
Canada  by  military  law.  Yet  his  hand  was  by  no  means 
heavy.  From  the  moment  of  victory,  good  sense  or 
magnanimity  or  both  inspired  the  English.  Though  a 
man  of  war,  the  Governor  had  a  tender  feeling  for  his 
subjects.  Justice  tempered  with  humanity  was  no  doubt 
his  wish  and  purpose.  A  soldier  was  hanged  for  robbing 


11  §  Parkman,  Old  Regime,  p.  331.     Justice:  Cavendish,   Debates,  p.  108. 
Mem.  of  Hocquart :  Queb.  Lit.  and  Hist.  Soc.,  Hist.  Docs.,  ist  Ser.,  1840,  p.  4. 

1 2  Houston,  Const.  Docs.,  p.  32. 


.-    r'-fe^'Uio1  LT'Wi.U     %!     W    '''''    rVi     ^!   '//V 


England  Wins  Canada  27 

a  citizen  of  Quebec;  and  British  veterans  could  be  seen 
in  the  harvest- field  volunteering  to  help  the  farmer  gather 
his  crop,  sharing  their  rations  with  him,  and  filling  his 
empty  pipe  with  tobacco.13 

The  Treaty  of  Paris  ended  the  war  in  1763.  In  October 
of  that  year,  a  royal  .proclamation  staked  out  the  limits 
and  the  political  future  of  the  province;  and,  ten  months 
later,  a  civil  administration  went  into  effect  under  it.  The 
system  was  that  of  a  crown  colony  minus  the  Assembly. 
A  'Captain  General  and  Governor  in  Chief  headed  the 
administration;  and  a  Council,  by  whose  '  advice  and 
consent'  he  was  supposed  to  act,  supplemented  his 
wisdom,  though  in  fact  it  was  often  hard  to  get  a  quorum 
of  the  Council,  and  the  Governor  usually  did  about  as  he 
pleased.  Their  ordinances,  at  first  published  at  the  beat  of 
drum  by  criers,  and  later  read  from  the  Quebec  Gazette 
by  the  priests  at  the  close  of  the  Sunday  service,  announced 
the  will  of  the  government;  and,  sitting  also  as  a  supreme 
provincial  court,  they  were  empowered  to  interpret  the 
laws.14  Murray  was  the  first  civil  governor;  and  he  gave 
place  in  1766  to  a  man  of  equally  good  intentions  and 
more  ability,  General  Guy  Carleton. 

Yet,  though  Canada  was  fortunate  in  her  British  rulers, 
the  tune  there  did  not  become  pure  harmony,  and  even  a 
hasty  glance  at  the  strings  could  show  why. 

A  mass  of  tenant-farmers,  the  French  habitants,  formed 
the  basis  of  the  population.  These  were  the  descendants 
of  colonists — largely  Norman — sent  over  by  L/ouis  XIV. 
and  of  women  persuaded  later  to  come  and  marry  them. 
It  was  a  tough,  healthy  stock,  well  purged  of  weaklings 
by  the  hard  conditions  of  existence,  full  of  Gallic  vivacity 


13  §  See  Murray's  reports  in  the  Can.  Arch,  in  proof  of  this.     Parkman, 
Montcalm,  II.,  p.  331. 

1 4  §  Houston,  Const.  Docs.,  pp.  61,  67.     Carleton,  Maseres  and  Hey  before 
the  House  of  Commons:  Cavendish,  Debates.     Coffin,  Quebec  Act,  pp.  326,  338- 
343-    Can.  Arch.,  1888,  p.  XII.;  1890,  p.  XII. 


28  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

and  by  no  means  destitute  of  Gallic  charm,  yet  not  with 
out  some  little  faults.  Bougainville,  not  long  before  the 
Conquest,  painted  the  habitant  as  'loud,  boastful,  men 
dacious,  obliging,  civil,  and  honest ;  indefatigable  in 
hunting,  travelling,  and  bush-ranging,  but  lazy  in  tilling 
the  soil.'  Murray,  though  a  foreigner — or  possibly  be 
cause  a  foreigner — said  more  in  their  favor.  While  their 
military  Governor,  he  described  them  as  '  a  strong  healthy 
race,  plain  in  their  dress,  virtuous  in  their  morals  and 
temperate  in  their  living ' ;  and  two  years  later  he  alluded 
to  them  as  '  perhaps  the  bravest  and  the  best  race  upon 
the  Globe.'15 

They  piqued  themselves  mainly  upon  their  politeness; 
and,  while  their  French  ancestry  was  not  to  be  forgotten, 
there  was  probably  something  in  Marr's  opinion  that  long 
subordination  had  left  this  mark  upon  them.  Book-learn 
ing  they  wofully  lacked.  In  fact,  according  tolyotbiniere, 
hardly  more  than  four  or  five  persons  in  a  parish  could 
read;  and  of  course  their  credulity — aside  from  a  dash  of 
the  mocking  cynicism  native  to  every  Frenchman — 
matched  their  ignorance.  But,  from  the  very  cradle, 
children  were  taught  how  to  act  and  how  to  speak,  so  that 
even  the  humblest  countryman  could  manage  his  feet, 
hands,  and  tongue  properly  in  any  society.16 

Though  far  from  rich,  these  people  seemed  gay  and 
contented.  ' In  New  England  &  in  the  other  Provinces 
of  the  Continent  of  North  America  belonging  to  the 
British  Kmpire,'  wrote  Charlevoix,  'there  prevails  an 
opulence  which  the  people  know  not  how  to  profit  by,  & 
in  New  France  a  poverty  concealed  under  an  air  of  ease 
that  appears  unstudied.  .  .  .  The  English  Colonist  ac- 

1  s  §  Bougainville  :  Parkman,  Old  Regime,  p.  439.  Murray,  Report,  June  5 
1762  :  Can.  Arch.,  B,  7,  p.  55.  Id.  to  Board  of  Trade,  Oct.  29,  1764:  Pub.  Rec 
Off.,  Colon.  Corres.,  Quebec,  2,  p.  335.  Marr :  Can.  Arch.,  M,  384,  p.  85. 

16  §  Marriott,  Plan,  p.  32  (I^otbiniere).  Hey  to  Chancellor,  Aug.  28,  1775: 
Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Colon.  Corres.,  Quebec,  12,  p.  365.  Murray  to  Shelburne,  Aug. 
20,  1766:  Can.  Arch.,  B,  8,  p.  i.  Marr  :  Note  15. 


The  Canadians  29 

cumulates  Property,  &  spends  nothing  needlessly:  The 
Frenchman  enjoys  what  he  has,  &  often  makes  a  show  of 
what  he  has  not.  The  former  toils  for  his  Heirs  ;  the 
other  leaves  his  [Children]  in  the  penury  where  he  found 
himself,  to  get  on  as  they  can.'  IT 

At  the  Conquest  the  habitants  were  poorer  than  ever,— 
far  poorer.  War  had  kept  them  from  their  fields;  no  little 
wealth  had  vanished  in  smoke  ;  and  the  French  paper 
money  that  stuffed  their  pockets  had  turned  by  a  hateful 
alchemy  to  mere  dirty  rags.  The  harvest  of  1759  was  but 
meagre, — save  that  garnered  on  the  Plains  of  Abraham. 
A  barrel  of  flour  sold  for  two  hundred  francs.  Most  of 
the  cattle  and  many  a  horse  were  sacrificed  to  keep  the 
wolf  from  the  door.  People  lived  chiefly  on  a  pittance  of 
salt  cod,  or  else  on  the  King's  rations.  But  they  took  up 
the  spade  and  the  sickle  again  with  good  courage.  Some 
trapped  the  beaver,  and  some  drew  the  seine.  New 
blood  flowed  now  in  Canada;  new  capital  worked  its 
resources;  the  commercial  instincts  of  the  British  gave  a 
fresh  impulse;  and  the  country  prospered  more  than  ever. 
Holes  in  the  thatch  closed  ;  chinks  between  the  logs  were 
stopped;  the  pot  simmered  briskly,  and  the  fiddle  soon 
recalled  its  merry  dances.  By  1771,  460,000  bushels  of 
wheat  could  be  exported  annually.18 

Toward  the  government,  the  mass  of  the  habitants  felt 
only  submission.  *  The  people  in  general  seem  well 
enough  disposed  toward  their  new  Masters,'  reported 
General  Gage  from  Montreal.  Haldimand,  writing  from 
Three  Rivers,  expressed  the  same  judgment  with  more 
emphasis.  At  the  close  of  1773,  eleven  years  later, 
.Lieutenant-Governor  Cramahe  only  re-echoed  these 
opinions,  pronouncing  the  people  *  tractable  and  submis- 


1 7  Charlevoix  :  Voyage,  p.  80. 

Js  §  Parkman,  Old  Regime,  p.  350  ;  Montcalm,  II.,  p.  172.    Wheat:  Chase 
and  Carroll  to  Hancock,  May  17,  1776 :  4  Force,  VI.,  587. 


30    Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

sive.'  Exhaustion  might  partially  explain  their  state  of 
mind  at  first;  and  besides,  they  realized  how  completely 
they  had  been  defeated.  But  the  purpose  of  the  British 
to  treat  them  fairly  and  kindly  was  no  doubt  appreciated, 
especially  as  miscolored  stories  from  Acadia  may  have  led 
them  to  expect  something  very  different.  Moreover,  they 
felt  that  all  authority  came  from  God;  and  they  realized, 
as  truly  as  did  the  Papineau  of  a  later  day,  that  under 
British  rule  they  were  indeed  well  off,— no  longer  sum 
moned  to  battle,  no  longer  in  danger,  no  longer  burdened 
with  taxes  ;  but  free,  se 
cure,  prosperous,  and  light- 
hearted.  Such  was  the 
mass  of  the  Canadian 
farmers  ;  and  the  French 
common  people  of  the 
towns  had  similar  reasons 
for  entertaining  similar 
feelings.  Yet  every  man 


of  them  understood  that 
an  alien  race  had  con 
quered  and  now  reigned 
over  them.  19 

Another  section  of  the  conquered  population,  how 
ever,  stood  sharply  apart  from  the  habitants.  This  was 
the  noblesse  or  gentry.  The  rulers  of  France  had  believed 
in  aristocracy;  therefore,  said  they,  New  France  must 
have  an  upper  class.  The  feudal  system  was  established 
there  by  Richelieu;  and  some  officers  of  a  French  regiment 
disbanded  in  Canada,  reinforced  by  patented  aristocrats 
and  more  officers,  formed  the  noblesse.20 


CHAM  PLAIN'S   PICTURE  OF   HIS 
HOUSE  AT  QUEBEC 


19  §  Gage  to  Atnherst,  Mar.  20,  1762  :    Can.  Arch.,  M,  375,  p.  222.      Haldi- 
mand,  1762  :  ib.  B,  i,  p.  216.     Cramah£  :  ib.,  Q,  10,  p.  22. 

20  §  Noblesse  :  Parkman,  Old  Regime,  pp.  232,  294,  305;  [Maseres] ,  Occas. 
Essays,  pp.  164-166;   Murray,  Can.  Arch.,  B,  7,  p.  55;  Carleton  to  Shelburne, 
Nov.  25,  1767  (Can.  Arch.,  Report  for  1888,  pp.  41-48).    Maseres,  Account,  p.  165. 


The  Canadian  Noblesse  31 

But  the  feudal  system  of  the  province  reflected  its 
French  original  in  a  ghostly  fashion.  On  the  one  hand 
its  political  powers  were  nil,  and  on  the  other  it  had  to 
depend  upon  usefulness  more  than  brilliancy  for  the  little 
consideration  it  enjoyed.  As  a  scheme  for  dividing  and 
clearing  the  wilds,  it  played  a  valuable  part,  since  a  noble 
forfeited  the  grant  made  him  by  the  King  unless  the  land 
were  improved;  and,  as  he  could  seldom  afford  to  clear 
it  himself,  he  found  it  necessary  to  look  for  settlers. 
Rents  were  so  low  that  he  could  not  live  decently  upon 
them.  Sometimes,  in  fact,  aristocrats  fell  into  the  direst 
poverty.  *  It  is  pitiful,'  wrote  the  Intendant  Champigny, 
'  to  see  their  children,  of  which  they  have  great  numbers, 
passing  all  summer  with  nothing  on  them  but  a  shirt,  and 
their  wives  and  daughters  working  in  the  fields ' ;  and 
three  of  the  four  original  nobles  reached  the  very  edge  of 
starvation.  'Pride  and  sloth,'  wrote  the  same  Intend 
ant,  were  the  causes  of  their  ruin  ;  and  he  added,  *  I 
pray  you  grant  no  more  letters  of  nobility,  unless  you 
want  to  multiply  beggars.'  '  To  increase  their  number, 
is  to  increase  the  number  of  do-nothings,'  declared 
Governor  Denonville.  '  In  general  poor,  .  .  .  extremely 
vain,'  wrote  Murray  in  ij62.21 

For  such  men  a  post  in  the  King's  service  was  almost 
the  only  resource ;  and  as  a  rule,  while  the  French 
occupied  Canada,  they  held  commissions  in  the  army.  In 
that  r61e  their  qualities  had  more  lustre.  Some  of  them, 
like  Iberville,  St.  Castin,  and  La  Salle,  found  poverty  a 
noble  spur  to  enterprise,  turned  their  backs  upon  haughty 
but  squalid  idleness,  and  proved  their  titles  to  nobility  by 
shining  deeds  instead  of  rusty  parchments.  Courage  and 
military  forwardness  they  did  not  lack.  The  border  wars 
kept  their  swords  bright;  and,  whether  leading  a  foray  or 

2 !  §  See  Note  19.  Rents :  128  seigneuries  are  said  to  have  yielded  on  the 
average  only  _£6o  a  year  ;  see  Coffin,  Quebec  Act,  p.  298.  Champigny  and 
Denonville  :  Parkman,  Old  R£g.,  pp.  307,  308.  Murray  :  Can.  Arch.,  B,  7,  p.  55. 


32     Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

following  a  general,  they  served  New  France  and  scourged 
New  England  with  zeal  and  effect.  In  short,  the  French- 
Canadian  aristocracy  was  essentially  military;  and, 
though  anybody  who  could  buy  an  estate  became  a 
'seigneur/  he  did  not  for  that  reason  become  a  noble.22 

Upon  this  noblesse  the  Conquest  dealt  its  heaviest  blows. 
On  the  one  side  it  put  an  end  to  royal  employment,  and  on 
the  other  it  annulled  all  authority  over  the  habitants, 
subject  previously  to  various  feudal  obligations.  Many 
of  the  most  important  withdrew  with  the  fleur-de-lis  to 
France;  and  others,  instead  of  living  in  the  towns,  as 
they  preferred  to  do,  had  to  exist  as  best  they  might  in 
the  dull  poverty  of  their  farms.  Fear,  hope,  and  hopeless 
ness  combined  to  keep  them  quiet,  and  Carleton  acknowl 
edged  '  their  decent  and  respectful  obedience  to  the 
Kings  government';  yet,  as  he  informed  Hillsborough 
in  the  same  breath,  he  had  not  'the  least  doubt  of  their 
secret  attachments  to  france.' 23 

The  Roman  Church  in  Canada  had  been  singularly 
exalted  and  then  signally  humbled. 

In  the  early  days,  both  Quebec  and  Montreal  had  been 
theocracies.  Faith,  devotion,  and  pious  courage  had 
never  shown  a  brighter  light,  nor  mysticism  an  illumina 
tion  more  brilliant  or  more  absurd.  Both  God  and  the 
devil  seemed  to  have  the  saintly  pioneers  especially  in 
view  at  all  times.  Occurrences  that  came  elsewhere  in 
the  natural  order  of  things  took  place  there  by  direct 
supernatural  agency;  and  prodigies,  miracles,  visions,  and 
ecstasies  almost  superseded  the  customary  methods  of 
observing  and  reasoning.24 

2  2  §  posts  :  Carleton,  Nov.  20,  1768  (Can.  Arch.,  Report  for  1888,  p.  48).  Iber- 
yille,  etc.  :  Parkman,  Old  Regime,  pp.  310,  311.  As  soldiers:  ib.,  pp.  312,  w* 
Seigneur  vs.  noble  :  ib.,  p.  304. 

23 §  To  France:  Maseres,  Account,  p.  170.  Carleton  to  Hillsborough,  Nov 
20,  1768  :  Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Colon.  Corres.,  Quebec,  5,  last  letter  ;  see  Can  Arch 
Report  for  1888,  p.  48  ;  and  ib.,  Q,  5,  2,  p.  890. 

24  For  this  paragraph  and  the  next:  Parkman,  Old  Regime,  flasstm  •  par 
ticularly  pp.  400,  217,  1^8,  185,  384,  404. 


The  Church  in  Canada  33 

Among  themselves  the  ecclesiastics  might  conspire 
and  quarrel,  but  their  common  Church  moved  on  majesti 
cally  with  a  lofty  front  and  a  high  hand.  Governors 
might  come  and  also  they  might  go, — especially  if  they 
differed  with  the  Jesuits ;  but  the  Church  remained. 
The  most  vicious  of  the  rulers  had  to  pay  homage  to  her, 
and  the  most  virtuous  were  forced  to  wink  more  or  less 
patiently  at  her  abuses.  More  surprising  still,  the  priests 
dared  threaten  Canadian  belles  with  excommunication, 
merely  for  decorating  their  shapely  heads  with  a  knot  of 
ribbon.  Laval,  in  whose  veins  ran  the  proud,  hot  blood 
of  a  Constable  of  France,  and  in  whose  brain  burned  the 
fire  of  a  Peter  the  Hermit, — Laval  once  declared,  '  A 
bishop  can  do  what  he  likes ' ;  and  he  not  only  succeeded 
in  turning  the  whole  government  of  Canada  bottom-side 
up,  but  even  achieved  the  final  and  fatal  triumph  of  rousing 
the  jealous  self-will  of  Louis  XIV.  himself.  Under  such 
a  rule,  orthodoxy  could  not  fail  to  remain  spotless ;  and 
when  the 
King,  after 
letting  loose 
on  the  Hu 
guenots  his  odious  dragonnades,  ordered  this  righteous 
example  followed  in  Canada,  the  proud  reply  went  back, 
1  Praised  be  God,  there  is  not  a  heretic  here  ! ' 

But  now  there  was  a  heretic,  and  this  proud  Church  lay 
at  his  feet.  Instead  of  setting  up  and  throwing  down  at 
its  will  governors,  intendants,  and  councils,  it  had  to  walk 
softly  before  a  Protestant  King,  himself  the  head  of  the 
Church  in  Canada,  as  in  all  British  dominions.  Instead 
of  fulminating  from  the  rock  of  Quebec,  like  a  new  Pope 
from  a  new  Rome,  the  bishop  felt  happy  to  plead  that, 
under  the  Capitulation  of  Montreal  and  the  treaty  of 
peace,  he  could  lay  claim  to  that  humble  boon,  toleration. 
And  when  Briand,  the  present  occupant  of  the  episcopal 


34    Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

throne,  received  permission  to  be  consecrated  in  France 
(1766),  he  thankfully  let  it  be  understood  that  he  would 
be  a  mere  over-shepherd  of  the  sheep,  a  St.  Peter  of  the 
first  century,  not  of  the  thirteenth.  No  doubt  the  govern 
ment  dealt  fairly  and  kindly  with  the  Church,  and  both 
the  higher  clergy  and  the  country  priests  repaid  it  with 
gratitude  as  well  as  obedience.  But — Rome  does  not 
change,  and  Protestant  rule  could  not  be  enjoyed/"5 

All  these  elements  made  up  what  bore  the  name  of  '  new 
subjects.'  Of  the  '  old  subjects,'  as  the  British  side  of 
the  house  was  termed,  Governor  Carleton  stood  first  and 
most  important. 

Not  precisely  a  drawing-room  ornament  was  he,  for  an 
enormous  nose  mounted  like  a  geological  formation  in  the 
middle  of  his  rather  shapely  face;  nor  a  boudoir  delight, 
for  his  well-turned  lips  moulded  commands  better  than 
compliments,  and  that  half-world  of  cleverness,  manners 
and  meanness  called  '  society '  could  have  pleased  him 
but  little.  Neither  could  he  expect  to  be  a  popular  idol; 
for  he  was  by  no  means  one  to  mouth  his  words  fondly, 
until  the  tasteless  concluded  they  must  be  honey;  to 
beguile  the  unwary  with  facial  movements  that  were 
outwardly  smiles  and  inwardly  chuckles;  to  inquire  with 
tender  unction  after  a  mother  or  son,  the  fact  of  whose 
existence  had  been  deftly  snapped  up  five  minutes  before; 
and  to  prove  his  title  to  great  distinction  and  great  power 
by  all  manner  of  smallnesses:  little  graces,  little  favors, 
little  flatteries,  little  ingenuities,  little  tricks,  and  services 
even  smaller.  Perhaps  he  might  have  looked  well  on  a 
bishop's  throne,  for  General  Riedesel  thought  he  resem 
bled  the  Abbe  Jerusalem  exactly";  but  arms  were  his 


25«Briand-  Maseres,  Add.  Papers,  p.  138.  Priests:  Murray,  Can.  Arch., 
B,  8,  p.  i  ;  B,  7,  p.  55.  See  Chap.  XII.,  Note  22,  and  the  corresponding  text. 

2 6  Riedesel,  Letters,  p.  30.  Nose:  Gaspe,  Mem.,  p.  127.  Portrait;  Polit. 
Mag.,  1782,  p.  350. 


Governor  Carleton  35 

profession,  and  personal  appearance  was  the  last  of  his 
cares. 

Had  the  Athens  of  Diogenes  been  his  home,  we  should 
hear  more  of  the  tub  perhaps,  but  certainly  not  so  much 
of  the  lantern.  Cleaner  hands  than  anybody  else  '  ever 
entrusted  with  public  money,'  he  was  reputed  to  have  ; 
yet  that  was  not  enough  to  satisfy  him,  and,  on  assuming 
the  governorship,  he  shocked  Murray's  friends  and 
angered  Murray  himself  by  refusing  the  fees  belonging  to 
his  office, — fees  based  on  the  capacity  of  richer  provinces, 
and  in  his  opinion  too  heavy  for  Canada.27 

Essentially,  and  not  merely  by  profession,  he  was  a 
soldier, — fearless  and  inflexible,  and  General  Gage 
described  him  as  *  the  best  Military  Instructor  I  know'; 
yet  he  regarded  a  victory  over  fellow  citizens  as  no  cause 
for  rejoicing.  *  Coach-dog '  statesmanship  he  despised, 
and  he  had  other  uses  for  his  ear  than  keeping  it  to  the 
ground.  Probably,  also,  he  was — like  Washington — too 
superior,  too  high-minded,  too  large,  to  penetrate  all  the 
meanness  of  small  minds,  or  foresee  all  the  counsels  of 
timidity  and  selfishness;  and  no  doubt  his  military  instincts 
and  training  influenced  both  his  political  judgment  and 
his  personal  likings.  Many  found  him  cold,  and  some 
looked  upon  his  kind  acts  as  mere  policy;  but  in  reality 
he  was  no  man  of  bronze.  Reserve  and  even  sternness 
became  a  great  governor  and  soldier  in  perilous  times; 
and  only  a  person  of  heart  would  have  perceived  the 
shrewdness  of  magnanimity.28 

Being  human,  he  was  not  infallible;  but  large,  long 
views,  broad  kindliness,  and  sane  policy  beyond  the  reach 
of  personal  ambition  or  personal  resentment  he  surely 
possessed.  Circumstances  as  well  as  merits  favored  him, 


27 §  Clean  hands:  Polit.  Mag.,  1782,  p.  351.  Fees:  Can.  Arch.,  Report  for 
1890,  p.  XIII.;  Q,  3,  p.  411  ;  Coffin.  Quebec  Act,  p.  359. 

28§  Gage  to  Barrington,  Aug.  27,  1774:  Can.  Arch.,  QA,  12,  p.  203.  Victory: 
Better,  Oct.  14,  1776  (Can.  Arch.,  B,  39,  p.  219). 


36    Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 


too.  An  inspiring  captain  without  the  passions  of  the 
fighter,  an  impartial  judge  without  the  bandage  which 
justice  has  been  said  to  wear,  a  satrap  who  refused  to  be 
either  a  courtier  or  a  bandit,  a  hero  without  vanity  and  a 
man  without  a  price,  he  had  the  good  fortune  to  be  set 
in  contrast  with  Lord  Germain  in  the  cabinet  and  with 
General  Burgoyne  in  the  field. 

Around  the  Governor,  shading  off  in  the  fixed  grada 
tions  of  rank,  stood  the  military  men,  with  all  the 
traditional  merits  and  all  the  traditional  faults  of  their 
caste, — honest,  spirited,  straightforward,  haughty,  domi 
neering,  and  prejudiced29;  and  beyond  them,  in  a 
circle  that  faded  away  toward  the  obscurity  of  stellar 
space,  revolved  the  British  civilian  public. 

The  essential  fact  about  these  last  was  that  a  wish  to 
make  money,  not  a  sentiment,  nor  a  fancy,  nor  a  sense  of 

duty,  had  led  them  to  settle 
in  a  cold,  strange  land  among 
an  alien  people;  and  no  doubt 
the  consciousness  of  belong 
ing  to  the  dominant  race  had 
weighed  somewhat  in  their 
calculations.  Most  of  them 
had  in  fact  arrived  since  the 
Conquest,  and  perhaps  it 
would  not  be  unfair  to  sug 
gest  that,  if  they  marched  for 
this  frigid  Canaan  under  the 
lead  of  a  Moses,  it  was  a 
Moses  of  the  modern  type. 

To  tell  the  truth,  what  evidence  concerning  them  made 
its  way  into  the  records  looked  remarkably  unpleasant. 
Murray,  soon  after  the  treaty  of  peace,  wrote  the  London 
government  about  "Licentious  Fanaticks  Trading  here," 

29  Murray  to  Lords  of  Trade,  Mar.  3,  1765:  Can.  Arch.,  Q,  2,  p.  377. 


MARQUIS  DE   MONTCALM 


The  British  Canadians  37 

whom  nothing  could  satisfy  except  '  the  expulsion  of  the 
Canadians.'  Half  a  year  later,  he  described  them  as 
'  chiefly  adventurers  of  mean  Education,  either  young 
beginners,  or,  if  Old  Traders,  such  as  had  failed  in  other 
Countrys ';  adding,  'all  have  their  Fortunes  to  make  and 
[are]  little  Sollicitous  ab- the  means.'  Even  the  officials 
chosen  in  England  for  the  civil  service  did  not  win  his 
heart.  'Instead  of  Men  of  Genius  and  untainted  Moralsr 
the  Reverse  were  appointed  to  the  most  important  offices,' 
he  complained.  Carleton's  report,  dated  soon  after  his 
arrival,  resembled  Murray's;  and,  within  three  years,  he 
deposed  the  justices  of  the  peace  from  their  jurisdiction 
in  civil  cases  on 
the  ground  that 
many  of  t  h  e  m 
acted  oppressively. 
Men  who  failed  in 
business  took  the 
office,  he  said,  as  a  RUINS  OF  LOUISBURG 

means  of  extortion. 

And  similar  uncomplimentary  judgments,  after  the  Brit 
ish-Canadians  fell  out  with  the  government,  were  often 
expressed  and  emphasized  beyond  the  water,  in  speeches 
and  in  pamphlets.30 

All  this  needed  to  be  liberally  discounted,  however,  on 
account  of  aristocratic,  military,  and  political  prejudices. 
It  was  true,  no  doubt,  that  a  considerable  number  of 
these  people,  particularly  those  who  settled  in  Canada  at 
the  time  of  the  Conquest,  were  ex-sutlers  and  discharged 
soldiers,  who  made  their  living  as  liquor-dealers  at  retail; 
and  possibly  some  of  them  deserved  Murray's  description, 


30§  Murray  to  Board  of  Trade,  Oct.  29,  1764:  Can.  Arch.,  Q,  2,  p.  233  ;  Mar. 
3,  1765:  ib.,  p.  377  (Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Colon.  Corres.,  Quebec,  2,  pp.  335,  455^;  see 
also  Can.  Arch..  B,  8,  p.  i.  Carleton,  Nov.  25,  1767:  Can.  Arch.,  Report  for  1888, 

S4i  ;  Mar.  28,  1770:  ib.,  Report  for  1890,  p.  i.    English   opinion:  e.g.,  Appeal 
the  Public,  p  19  ;  Lyttleton  to  Pitt,  p.  8. 


38    Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

'the  most  immoral  collection  of  men  I  ever  knew.'  But 
from  this  low  level,  found  in  all  society,  the  British- 
Canadian  public  of  1774  rose  into  what  any  commercial 
standard  would  accept  as  high  respectability.31 

Many  of  the  traders  were  the  agents  of  large  English 
houses,  and  the  leading  merchants  had  a  firm  control  of 
the  wholesale  business, — particularly  the  fur  trade,  the 
traffic  with  the  Indians,  and  the  foreign  commerce. 
Indeed,  Canada  was  indebted  to  them  for  substantially 
all  of  its  larger  affairs.  Many  carried  on  extensive  opera 
tions;  and  some,  like  Adam  Lymburner  of  Quebec  and 
Thomas  Walker  of  Montreal,  had  importance  enough  to 
merit  the  Governor's  recognition  as  '  very  respectable 
merchants.'  Not  a  few  bought  estates  and  became 
'seigneurs/  though  substantially  all  resided  in  Quebec 
or  Montreal.  In  a  word,  Canada  could  show,  after  the 
feebler  immigrants  had  been  driven  away  by  the  climate 
or  poor  success,  just  the  sort  of  an  active,  energetic,  sharp, 
rather  hard  and  not  over-nice  mercantile  class  that  has 
always  adorned  the  hem  of  advancing  civilization.32 

Such  a  number  of  social  elements  could  not  circle  in 
their  orbits  without  acting  and  reacting  on  one  another. 
Governor  Carleton  understood  and  trusted  the  military 
class,  somewhat  misunderstood  and  considerably  disliked 
the  traders,  favored  the  habitants  because  they  were  really 
the  people  of  Canada,  and  perhaps  also  because  the  lack 
of  sympathy  between  him  and  the  British  residents  made 
their  support  especially  desirable,  protected  the  Church, 
preferred  the  lower  clergy,  who  were  Canadian,  to  the 


3i  §  Carleton  to  Hillsborough,  Mar.  28,  1770:  Can  Arch.,  Q,  7,  p.  7.  Liquor- 
dealers:  Carleton  before  the  Commons,  Cavendish,  Debates,  p.  106.  Murray: 
Can.  Arch.,  B,  8,  p.  i.  (By  this  time  Murray  had  probably  been  embittered  by 
their  opposition  ;  he  was  soon  recalled.) 

3  2  §  Agents:  Seigneurs,  Petition  (Can.  Arch.,  Q,  4,  p.  23).  Business  opera 
tions-  Carleton  and  Maseres  before  the  Commons,  Cavendish,  Debates,  particu 
larly  pp.  127,  141.  (Tonnancour  of  Three  Rivers,  however,  was  a  French  Jew. 
He  controlled  a  great  business.)  Developed  Canada:  Hey,  Can.  Arch.,  Q,  12,  p. 
203  Carleton,  Cavendish,  Debates,  p.  103.  Seigneurs:  Can.  Arch.,  M,  384,  2,  i, 
p  233  Poor  success :  Carl,  to  Shelburne  (Can.  Arch.,  Report  for  1888,  p.  43). 


Action  and  Reaction  39 

higher  clergy  who  came  chiefly  from  France,  and  felt  a 
special  interest  in  the  noblesse  because  they  were  gentle 
men,  because  they  were  soldiers,  and  because  he  believed 
that  'through  their  Interest'  the  lower  class  could  be 
managed.33 

The  noblesse — although  their  poverty  had  secured  them 
permission  to  engage  in  business  without  losing  rank, 
and  had  sometimes  driven  them  rather  deeply  into  trade — 
felt  a  lordly  contempt  for  the  British  merchants  and 
probably  showed  twice  as  much  as  they  felt  ;  while, 
according  to  Murray,  they  received  plenty  of  '  insults ' 
in  return.  Toward  the  Governor,  they  looked  with 
gratitude  and  hope  as  well  as  obedience.  The  Church 
was  their  revered  mother ;  and  the  habitants  were 
unshackled  serfs,  whose  emancipation  they  as  yet  hardly 
realized,  and  recognized  even  less.34 

The  peasants  in  turn  regarded  the  nobles  quite  generally 
as  dethroned  despots,  now  to  be  despised  as  much  as 
they  had  once  been  feared.  Indeed,  though  Murray  and 
Carleton  were  not  in  a  position  to  gauge  the  current,  the 
noblesse  began  to  lose  their  influence  as  soon  as  the 
authority  of  France  withdrew;  while  the  Canadians,  com 
pelled  to  deal  with  the  British  merchants  and  seigneurs, 
learned  somewhat  rapidly  various  welcome  principles  of 
English  freedom.  The  superior  activity,  wealth,  and 
political  skill  of  the  British  gave  them,  in  fact,  some 
ascendancy  over  the  natives.  In  1766,  the  Canadians  of 
Montreal,  assisted  perhaps  by  fellow  citizens  of  the  other 
tongue,  proved  their  appreciation  of  the  non-military 
spirit  of  English  Jaw  by  protesting  against  the  billeting  of 
troops  upon  them;  and  that  same  year  some  of  them, 

3  3  §  Carleton :  Cavendish,  Debates,  p.  103;  Coffin,  Quebec  Act,  p.  325. 
Carleton  to  Shelburne,  Nov.  25,  1767:  Can.  Arch.,  Q,  5,  i,  p.  260.  Carleton  to 
Hillsborough,  Mar.  15,  1769:  Can.  Arch.,  Q,  6,  p.  34.  (See  Murray  to  the  same 
effect :  B,  8,  p.  i  ;  B,  7,  p.  55.) 

34  §  In  trade:  Murray,  Report,  June  5,  1762  (Can.  Arch.,  B,  7,  p.  55^1.  Con 
tempt:  Seigneurs,  Petition  (ib.,  Q,  4,  p.  231;  Murray  to  Lords  of  Trade,  Mar.  3, 
1765  (ib.,  Q,  2,  p.  377).  Insults:  Murray  to  Shelb.,  Aug.  20,  1766  (ib.,  B,  8,  p.  i). 


4O    Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

described  by  the  noblesse  as  'slaves  to  their  creditors,' 
joined  the  British  residents  who  petitioned  for  Murray's 
recall.35 

Toward  the  Church,  the  peasantry  behaved  like  an 
affectionate  but  self-willed  little  rogue  who  discovers  that 
his  mother  is  fond  as  well  as  imperious.  Released  from 
every  legal  obligation  to  pay  church  dues,  a  corollary  of 
the  Conquest,  they  soon  began  to  straighten  their  tired 
backs;  and,  even  before  the  treaty  of  peace,  Murray  wrote, 
*  they  every  day  take  an  opportunity  to  dispute  the  tythes 
with  their  Cures.'  In  short,  the  mass  of  the  Canadians 
had  left  their  old  moorings,  and  were  drifting  now  in 
a  current  of  unknown  direction  and  unknown  rapidity. 
Might  not  some  Charybdis  or  Scylla  first  reveal  their 
whereabouts  to  themselves  and  the  world  ? S6 

The  most  prominent  British  merchant  at  Montreal  was 
the  Thomas  Walker  already  mentioned  and  often  to  be 
mentioned  hereafter. 

No  masterpiece  of  art,  no  Raphael  or  even  Hogarth  has 
preserved  this  gentleman's  features  ;  yet,  if  Spenser  said 
truly  that  'Soul  is  form  and  doth  the  bodie  make,'  it 
would  not  be  impossible  to  sketch  his  portrait.  A  strongly 
built  man  he  must  have  been, — his  large  bones  knit 
well  together,  and  cushioned  with  no  soft  outlines  of  good- 
humored  flesh.  His  beardless,  raw-red  face  lay  in  broadly 
hewn  planes,  already  a  little  pendulous  at  the  lower  edges 
in  1775.  Short,  iron-grey  hair  bristled  up  from  a  bronzed 
forehead,  strikingly  seamed ;  a  long,  substantial  nose 
brightened  into  a  deeper  red  at  its  keen  and  downward 
point ;  dark  eyes,  bloodshot  and  a  trifle  watery,  glared  out 
from  under  bushy  eyebrows ;  and  his  ears,  large  and 

35  §  Attitude:  Hey  to    Chancellor,   Aug.   28,  1775:    Can.  Arch.,  Q,    12,  203. 
Ascendancy:    Cugnet  in   Maseres,   Add    Papers,    p.    21  ;    Carleton's  implied 
opinion,  Can.  Arch.,  Q,  4,  p.  40.     Billeting:  Can.  Arch.,  Q,  3.  pp.  120-170.     Peti 
tion:  Can.  Arch.,  Q,  2,  p.  361  (see  ib.,  B,  8,  pp.  6,  14).      '  Slaves'  :  Petition   of 
Seigneurs  (ib.,  Q,  4,  p.  23). 

36  Murray,  1762:  Can.  Arch.,  B,  7,  p.  56. 


GENERAL  JAMES  WOLFE 


The  Walker  Outrage  43 

remotely  suggestive  of  a  bat's  pinions,  hinted  also  perhaps 
of  a  nocturnal  and  predatory  disposition.  His  ears,  did 
we  say  ? — but  at  this  period  he  possessed  only  one  such 
organ,  and  this  curious  fact  bore  seriously  on  the  fate  of 
nations. 

At  half-past  eight  in  the  evening,  December  6,  1764,  the 
Walkers  were  sitting  in  the  parlor  of  their  handsome 
house  near  the  Chateau  of  Montreal.  As  usual,  the  cloth 
had  been  laid  for  tea  in  the  hall,  a  room  between  the  parlor 
and  the  street.  Mrs.  Walker,  who  was  enough  like  her 
consort  to  render  the  family  life  piquant  as  well  as  affec 
tionate,  looked  at  her  watch  and  remarked,  '  It  is  time 
to  go  to  supper.'  Then,  on  second  thought,  as  Mr. 
Walker  had  not  been  feeling  very  well  that  day,  she 
urged  him  to  be  served  in  the  parlor.  It  appears  to  have 
required  ten  or  fifteen  minutes  to  adjust  this  matter,  but 
finally  they  went  into  the  hall  and  sat  down.37 

Close  behind  Walker  a  strong  door  opened  into  the  street, 
with  a  sashed  door  on  the  inside  of  it  ;  and  very  soon  the 
outside  latch  began  to  rattle  violently  as  if  some  one  were 
in  a  hurry  to  enter.  '  Come  in  ! '  Mrs.  Walker  called  out 
in  French;  and  her  husband,  turning  at  the  same  instant, 
saw  the  outer  door  thrown  open  and  a  large  number  of 
people  in  disguise  crowding  up.  Some  concealed  their 
faces  partially  with  little  round  hats  ;  while  others  had 
blackened  them,  or  covered  them  with  crape. 

The  inner  door  was  instantly  burst  open,  and  several  of 
the  intruders  hurried  by  the  table  as  if  to  cut  off  retreat. 
Walker  bethought  himself  at  once  of  his  bed-room  beyond 
the  parlor,  where  he  kept  a  great  number  of  firearms 


37  The  Walker  outrage  from  the  official  documents  :  Can.  Arch.,  Report 
for  1888,  pp.  1-14.  See  Can.  Arch.,  Q,  4,  p.  133.  Walker,  Memorial:  Cont.  Cong. 
Papers,  No.  41,  X.,  p.  665.  The  description  of  Walker  is  based  upon  the  series 
of  documents  and  events  in  which  he  appears.  See,  e.g.,  Carleton  to  Dart 
mouth,  Nov.  ii,  1774:  Pub.  Record  Off.  Colon.  Corres.,  Quebec.,  n,  p.  17. 
Mrs.  Walker:  see,  e.g.,  J.  Carroll  to  Chase  and  Ch.  Can  oil,  May  28,  1776 
(Emmet  Coll.). 


44    Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

constantly  loaded;  but,  on  turning  that  way,  he  received 
a  blow  from  behind — a  broadsword  blow,  he  believed — 
and,  after  driving  through  his  assailants,  found  the  door 
of  the  bed-room  guarded  by  two  men.  The  rest  of  the  fam 
ily  had  escaped  meanwhile  by  another  exit  from  the  hall. 

Then  followed  a  terrible  struggle  in  the  parlor.  Walker 
was  set  upon,  beaten,  wounded,  and  pushed  from  the 
bed-room  door  into  a  window  recess,  where,  as  he  thought, 
only  the  curtains,  tangling  themselves  about  him,  pre 
vented  his  assailants  from  dashing  his  brains  out  against 
the  stone  wall  of  the  house.  Here  the  victim  fainted  or 
was  stunned;  but  he  quickly  came  to  and  heard  some  one 
across  the  room  shout, 

'  Let  me  come  at  him;  I  will  dispatch  the  villain  with 
my  sword !  * 

This  roused  him;  and,  breaking  away  from  those  in  the 
window,  he  made  a  dash  in  the  direction  of  the  voice. 
Though  his  eyes  were  now  full  of  blood,  he  saw  two  naked 
swords  aimed  at  him.  One  he  thrust  aside  with  his  left 
hand,  and  for  some  reason  the  other  failed  to  do  execution ; 
but  several  men  seized  him  ancf  carried  him  toward  the 
great  fireplace  as  if  to  throw  him  on  the  burning  logs. 
Wresting  himself  out  of  their  clutches,  after  leaving  the 
print  of  his  bloody  fingers  on  the  jamb,  he  was  struck  on 
the  head  with  a  tomahawk — so  the  surgeons  concluded — 
and  felled  to  the  floor. 

There  some  one  dealt  him  a  terrific  blow  on  the  loins, 
and  another  miscreant  sat  or  kneeled  by  him  for  the 
purpose,  apparently,  of  cutting  his  throat.  Walker  bent 
his  head  to  his  shoulder  and  held  his  hand  to  his  neck. 
In  the  struggle  one  finger  was  laid  open  to  the  bone,  and 
one  ear  severed. 

*  The  villain  is  dead  ! '  exclaimed  a  voice. 

'  Damn  him,  we  've  done  for  him! '  answered  another  ;, 
and  they  all  made  off. 


The  Walker  Outrage  45 

But  the  victim,  though  he  had  received  not  less  than 
fifty -two  bruises,  besides  many  cuts,  recovered  after  a 
painful  siege,  and  set  about  the  detection  of  his  assailants. 
In  November,  two  years  later,  three  military  men  and 
three  civilians  were  charged  with  the  crime  and  arrested. 
All  were  prominent  people,  and  the  excitement  became 
intense.  Their  influence  counted  powerfully  in  their  favor, 
of  course,  while  Walker's  high  temper  had  alienated  not 
a  few;  and,  as  the  evidence  appeared  far  from  conclusive, 
no  indictment  was  brought  in.  Finally,  however,  one  of 
the  six  had  to  stand  trial,  but  he  proved  an  alibi;  and  no 
further  prosecution  was  attempted. 

Naturally,  this  affair  produced  an  immense  commotion, 
bitter  and  long  continued.  It  even  reached  the  King's 
ear.  And  it  was  indeed  of  no  little  significance,  for  it 
illustrated,  after  all  allowances  were  made  for  an  arbitrary 
and  harsh  personality,  the  high  state  of  tension  between 
the  military  and  the  civil  elements;  for  Walker  had 
taken  the  lead  in  refusing  to  billet  soldiers  upon  private 
houses  or  permit  officers  to  bleed  citizens  by  having  more 
than  one  billet  at  a  time.38  Nobody  could  forget  it  or 
undo  the  effect  of  the  hot  feelings  it  aroused,— least  of 
all,  Walker  himself.  Nine  months  before  the  abortive 
prosecution  of  his  alleged  assailants,  Murray  had  removed 
him  from  the  Commission  of  the  Peace,  and  his  reinstate 
ment  by  order  of  the  King  had  no  tendency  to  allay 
the  irritation.  Neither  did  the  action  of  the  British  settlers 
in  petitioning  for  Murray's  recall,  nor  that  of  the  noblesse 
in  sending  a  counter  petition.39 

38  Can.  Arch.,  Report  for  1888,  pp.  XT.,  XII.    Walker  Memorial-  Note  37 

39  Petitions:  Can.  Arch.,  B,  8,  pp.  6,  14,  191;  Q,  4)  p.  23. 


II 

GERMS  OF  REVOLT 

THE  natural  friction  between  two  very  different  races; 
the  inevitable  discord,  however  concealed,  between 
conquered  and  conquerors;  the  bitterness  of  a  dethroned 
priesthood;  the  desperation  of  penniless  aristocrats;  the 
unpredictable  impulses  of  an  oppressed  people  discovering 
they  were  free;  the  mutual  contempt  of  nobles  and  mer 
chants;  the  mutual  misunderstandings  between  the  British 
Governor  and  the  British  public;  the  mutual  distrust  of 
Protestants  and  Roman  Catholics  ;  the  keen  antipathies 
between  a  military  and  a  trading  community, —  these 
would  seem  to  have  been  explosives  enough;  yet  the  real 
fulminate  in  Canada  was  something  else.1 

To  tell  the  truth,  more  than  one  difficulty  still  to  be 
considered  might  lay  claim  to  that  title;  but  the  largest 
of  them  had  a  pre-eminent  right:  the  question  of  summon 
ing  an  Assembly.  In  that  matter,  strangely  enough, 
trouble  seemed  impossible  on  a  first  view  yet  inevitable 
on  a  second. 

The  royal  proclamation  of  1763  had  announced  with 
majestic  unction  that  popular  government  would  be  set  up, 
and  invited  British  subjects  to  come  and  prosper  under 
the  branches  thereof.  '  And  whereas  it  will  greatly  con 
tribute  to  the  speedy  settling  our  said  new  Governments,' 
declared  the  King,  '  that  our  loving  Subjects  should  be 
informed  of  our  Paternal  care  for  the  security  of  the 


1  See  Can.  Arch.,  Report  for  1890,  p.  X.,  for  interesting  remarks  on  the  state 
of  Canada  from  1760  to  1775. 

46 


The  Fulminate  47 

Liberties  and  Properties  of  those  who  are  and  shall  become 
Inhabitants  thereof,'  be  it  known  hereby  that  'express 
Power  and  Direction  '  have  been  given  '  to  our  Governors 
of  our  said  Colonies  [acquired  under  the  treaty  of  1763] 
that  so  soon  as  the  state  and  circumstances  of  the  said 
Colonies  will  admit  thereof,  they  shall,  with  the  Advice 
and  Consent  of  the  Members  of  our  Council,  summon  and 
call  General  Assemblies  within  the  said  Governments 
respectively,  in  such  Manner  and  Force  as  is  used  and 
directed  in  those  Colonies  and  Provinces  in  America 
which  are  under  our  immediate  Government.'3 

As  the  announcement  itself  explained,  England  gave 
this  pledge  to  Canada,  not  only  as  a  natural  consequence 
of  raising  her  flag  on  that  soil,  but  for  the  definite  pur 
pose  of  inducing  British  citizens  to  reside  there.  It 
seemed  not  only  a  father's  promise  but  a  landowner's  con 
tract.  Indeed,  Lord  Mansfield's  famous  judgment,  in  the 
similar  case  of  Grenada  Island,  involved  the  conclusion 
that  the  proclamation  amounted  in  reality  to  a  constitution 
or  charter;  and  this  view  appeared  to  be  confirmed  by  the 
fact  that  the  Quebec  Act,  the  first  organic  law  given 
Canada  by  Parliament,  was  careful  expressly  to  abrogate 
the  proclamation.  Legally,  it  has  been  held,  the  govern 
ment  of  Canada  at  this  period  without  an  Assembly  was 
unconstitutional  and  absolutely  void.  Yet,  whether  no 
Assembly  was  called,  as  some  declared,  or  was  summoned 
and  elected  once,  according  to  Marriott's  report  to  the 
Crown,  as  a  matter  of  common  agreement  no  Assembly 
ever  sat;  practically,  therefore,  none  existed.3 

There  were  good  reasons,  however,  for  this  apparent 
lapse  of  the  royal  word.  Canada  belonged  essentially  to 
French  Catholics,  who,  under  British  law,  could  neither 
hold  office  nor  vote.  Carleton's  estimate  of  their  number, 

*Can.  Arch.,  Q,  62A,  i,  p.  114;  'Houston,  Const!  Docs.,  p.  67. 
«  §  Coffin,  Quebec  Act,  pp.  294,  326-328.     Marriott,  Plan,  p.  32.    " 


48    Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

150,000,  was  doubtless  too  high;  but  if  they  were  60,000 
against  some  2000  British,  according  to  Haldimand's 
estimate  in  1780,  one  can  understand  why  three  British 
governors  in  succession  looked  upon  them  as  entitled  to 
the  first  consideration.  Now,  to  change  the  law  and 
admit  these  Catholics  to  an  Assembly  would  shock  British 
prejudices,  destroy  British  safeguards,  and  place  the 
British  residents  in  Canada  under  the  rule  of  Frenchmen 
and  *  papists,  '  conquered  by  force  of  arms  but  a  little 
time  since;  while  to  exclude  them  would  excite  and  per- 


haps  justify  their  fears  of  oppression.  As  Lord  North 
said  to  the  House  of  Commons,  '  The  bulk  of  the  inhabi 
tants  '  were  Roman  Catholics,  and  to  'subject  them  to  an 
assembly  composed  of  a  few  British  subjects  would  be  a 
great  hardship.'  To  avoid  this  difficulty,  it  was  proposed 
that  while  Protestants  alone  should  be  eligible  for  member 
ship  in  the  legislature,  Catholics  might  be  allowed  to  vote 
for  them;  but  Solicitor-General  Wedderburn  opined  that, 
were  this  franchise  given  to  all  Catholics,  the  noblesse 
would  be  offended,  while,  were  it  not,  the  Assembly  would 
fail  to  be  representative.  In  short,  it  seemed  practically 
impossible  to  carry  out  the  conditional  promise  of  1763." 
Several  facts  helped  reconcile  the  government  to  inaction. 


4  §  Carleton  :  Cavendish,  Debates,  p.  103.  Haldimand  :  Can.  Arch.,  B,  54,  p. 
354.  Haldimand's  estimate  was  too  low,  for,  according  to  the  census  of  1784,  the 
population  of  the  districts  of  Quebec,  Montreal,  and  Three  Rivers  was  111,314 
(Can.  Arch  ,  Report  for  1889,  p.  39).  Murray,  Aug.  20,  1766:  Can.  Arch.,  B,  8, 
p.  i.  Johnstone:  Cavendish,  Debates,  p.  249.  Wedderburn  (Dec.,  1772)  and  the 
general  question :  Coffin,  Quebec  Act,  pp.  465,  466.  Bourinot,  Canada  under 
Brit.  Rule,  p.  44. 


Autocracy  in  Canada  49 

One  was  that  an  Assembly  did  not  appear  to  be  desired  by 
the  French-Canadians,5  whereas  the  rule  of  a  Governor 
and  Council  seemed  to  be,  not  only  the  system  demanded 
by  the  circumstances  of  the  time,  but  the  regime  most 
likely  to  please  the  mass  of  the  people.  Autocracy  had 
been  the  polity  of  France.  Only  twelve  years  after  the 
founding  of  Jamestown,  wrote  Hutchinson,  '  a  house  of 
Burgesses  broke  out  in  Virginia ' ;  but  no  such  malady 
had  got  a  foothold  in  Canada.  '  In  the  fulness  of  our 
power — and  our  certain  knowledge,'  and  not  as  lawyers 
and  legislators,  had  spoken  the  edicts  of  the  King.  For 
a  long  period,  merchants  were  not  permitted  to  meet  for 
even  the  simple  discussion  of  their  business.  The  syndic, 
chosen  for  a  while  by  the  towns,  disappeared  at  a  word  or 
two  from  the  throne,  like  frost  under  a  glance  of  the  sun; 
and,  though  the  citizens  of  Quebec  were  called  together  a 
few  times  to  consider  some  such  local  matter  as  the  supply 
of  fire- wood  or  the  color  of  bread,  the  eye  of  authority 
soon  narrowed  upon  them  and  the  gatherings  withered 
away.  '  It  is  of  very  great  consequence,'  wrote  Meules, 
an  intendant,  '  that  the  people  should  not  be  left  at  liberty 
to  speak  their  minds.'6 

Neither  had  the  British  governors  exerted  themselves 
to  teach  the  value  of  public  meetings.  In  this  respect, 
curiously  enough,  they  followed  the  tradition  of  their 
predecessors,  much  as  Carleton,  though  he  succeeded  a 
governor  recalled  in  a  sort  of  disgrace,  held  Murray's 
views  about  the  noblesse.  In  both  cases,  like  causes 
produced  like  effects.  Evidently  they  feared,  and  very 
naturally,  that  some  political  epidemic  might  break  out 
among  this  mass  of  conquered  aliens,  if  they  crowded  over 


5  The    word     '  Canadians '  will  often    be  used   by    itself  to   signify    the 
French  of  Canada ;  and  the  English-speaking  people  will  be  called  '  British- 
Canadians.' 

6  §  Carleton  before  the  House  of  Commons:  Cavendish,  Debates,  pp.  105, 
106,  118.    North:  ib.,  p.  10.    Hutchinson:  Am.  Hist.  Assoc.,  Report,  1891,  p.  313. 
Parkman,  Old  Regime,  pp.  330,  331,  336,  351. 

VOL.  i.— 4. 


50    Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

much  together.  It  was  held  that  British  citizens  them 
selves  had  no  right  to  assemble  without  the  governor's 
consent.  Even  mere  petitions  were  discouraged.  So  dead 
an  atmosphere  could  not  well  transport  ideas  of  self- 
government;  and,  as  few  covet  what  they  know  nothing 
about,  the  mass  of  the  Canadians  desired  an  Assembly 
about  as  much  as  they  desired  porcelain  bath-tubs  or 
electric  lights.7 

More  than  that,  some  of  them  positively  dreaded  such 
a  contrivance.  The  noblesse  belonged  of  course  to  this 
number;  and  their  petition  in  favor  of  Murray  showed,  as 
one  might  have  expected,  their  preference  for  a  military 
regime.  The  priests  had  no  desire  to  be  ruled  by  a  group 
of  somewhat  aggressive  Protestants;  and  others  dreaded 
that  an  Assembly  would  make  trouble  with  the  home 
government  as  in  the  Colonies.  Canada  was  prosperous 
now,  argued  many;  why  not  let  well  enough  alone  ?  The 
very  logic  of  this  reasoning  hinted  that  perhaps  a  vague 
cry  of  'Liberty,  liberty  ! '  might  some  day  set  these  bliss 
ful  Canadians  on  fire,  for  such  advice  meant  that  igno 
rance  was  to  continue,  and  it  was  impossible  that  a 
mediaeval  French  polity  should  go  on  forever,  unchallenged, 
in  an  English  province;  but — it  was  plausible.8 

Another  thing  that  helped  reconcile  the  British  govern 
ment  to  inaction  was  the  sort  of  people  who  demanded 
the  fulfillment  of  the  'promise,'  as  they  loved  to  describe 
it.  Not  only  were  they  traders  and  merchants,  with  all 
those  words  implied;  not  only  had  they  quarrelled  with 
the  military  caste  and  failed  in  deference  to  the  noblesse; 
not  only  was  it  believed  that  they  would  like  to  oppress 
the  natives;  but  a  number  of  them  had  come  from  the 

7  §  Right  to  assemble:  Cramahe  to  Dartmouth,  Dec.  13,  1773  ;  July  15,  1774, 
Can  Arch  6  10  pp  24  79.  Petitions;  Carleton  to  Hillsborough,  Oct.  25, 
1769' (Can. 'Arch.,  Q,  6,  p.  161).  Carleton  before  House  of  Commons:  Caven 
dish,  Debates,  pp.  105,  etc. 

s  §  Petition:  Can.  Arch.,  Q,  4,  p.  2-5.  N.  Y.  Journ.,  Aug.  n,  1774  (letter 
from  L,ondon).  Carleton :  Cavendish,  Debates,  p.  ic6. 


Demands  for  Self-Government  51 

turbulent  and  mutinous  Colonies.  Thomas  Walker  had 
lived  long  at  Boston,  and  indeed  that  name  had  appeared 
there  in  more  than  one  previous  generation.  According  to 
Bourinot,  the  English  within  the  limits  of  Canada  in  1764 
were  chiefly  from  New  England;  and  the  next  year 
Murray  reported  eleven  out  of  a  hundred  and  thirty-six 
British  residents  in  the  District  of  Montreal  as  born  in  the 
Colonies,  while  no  doubt  others  had  lived  there.  Carle- 
ton  spoke  of  'some  Colonists  settled  among  '  the  British  of 
Montreal,  as  if  they  were  comparatively  few;  but  appar 
ently  they  were  very  energetic,  for  Lieutenant-Governor 
Cramahe  testified  that  substantially  all  such  British  sub 
jects  as  intended  'remaining  in  the  Country,  adopted 
American  Ideas  in  regard  to  Taxation.'  Indeed,  the 
instructions  given  Carleton  in  1768  with  reference  to 
calling  an  Assembly,  and  the  Act  of  1774,  which  denied 
the  Canadian  government  any  authority  to  lay  taxes 
except  for  specified  local  purposes,  appeared  to  acknow 
ledge  the  danger  of  insubordination;  and  in  general  the 
British  Ministry  could  hardly  fail  to  look  upon  the  demand 
for  an  Assembly  as  largely  an  outcropping  of  Colonial 
rebelliousness  or  at  least  of  a  similar  spirit.9 

The  methods  of  the  British  residents  hardly  tended  to 
calm  the  irritation.  They  saw  that  the  proclamation  had 
given  them  a  great  advantage,  and  evidently  did  not  pro 
pose  to  neglect  it.  Possibly  they  were  not  unwilling  to 
govern  the  country  somewhat  unfairly  in  their  own  inter 
est.  But  anyhow,  race  and  habit  prompted  them  to  ask 
for  a  real  voice  in  public  affairs,  not  a  mere  shadow  of 
authority  like  that  of  the  Council;  and  without  it  they 
deemed  their  property  and  their  personal  rights  exposed 


9  §  Walker :  Carleton  to  Germain,  May  9,  1777  (Can.  Arch.,  Q,  13,  pp.  96, 
98) ;  Walker,  Memorial, passim.  Bourinot,  Can.  under  Brit,  Rule,  p.  43.  Murray, 
Ivist:  Can.  Arch.,  B,  8,  p.  96.  Others:  note  instances  in  the  text  passim. 
Carleton  to  Dartmouth,  Nov.  n,  1774:  Can.  Arch.,  Q,  n,  p.  n.  Cramah£  to 
Dartmouth,  July  15,  1774:  Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Quebec,  10.  p.  115.  Instructions 
Can.  Arch.,  M,  230,  p.  67,  §  10. 


52    Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

to  arbitrary  ordinances.  They  wished  it;  the  government 
had  '  promised'  it;  and  so,  in  season  and  out  of  season, 
through  evil  report  and  through  such  faint  glimmerings 
of  good  report  as  befell  them,  cheerfully  ignoring  all  the 
difficulties  of  the  case,  they  demanded  it  in  respectful  but 
emphatic  terms.10 

As  may  readily  be  supposed,  no  time  was  allowed  the 
proclamation  to  die  a  natural  death.  In  1764 — like  a  bud 
forcing  its  way  through  the  bark  of  a  tree,  when  a  frost 
has  killed  the  young  shoots — the  British  members  of  the 
grand  jury  at  Quebec  astounded  Governor  Murray  with  a 
demand  for  self-government,  Taking  the  ground  that,  as 
no  Assembly  had  been  called,  they  '  must  be  considered 
at  present,  as  the  only  Body  Representative  of  the  Col 
ony  ';  and  that  '  British  Subjects  have  a  right  to  be  Con 
sulted  before  any  Ordinance  that  may  affect  the  Body 
they  Represent  be  passed  into  a  L,aw,'  they  requested 
that  '  the  publick  accounts  be  laid  before  the  Grand  Jury 
at  least  Twice  a  year,  to  be  Examined  and  Check' d  by 
them.'  Rather  a  bold  beginning,  this;  and  perhaps  it  was 
equally  audacious  to  protest  at  the  same  time  against  the 
admission  of  Catholics  to  juries  as  '  an  open  Violation  of 
our  most  sacred  Laws  and  Liberties,'  as  well  as  a  menace 
to  the  security  of  the  province.  But  apparently  they  felt 
that,  as  the  lion  had  put  his  nose  into  their  vise,  a  decided 
turn  would  soonest  end  the  business,  and  that  no  good 
reason  existed  for  concealing  what  has  been  called  their 
claim  to  rule.11 

Eight  of  these  men  and  thirteen  more  signed  the  peti 
tion  against  Murray  in  1765;  and,  calling  themselves 
representatives  of  the  whole  British  element,  once  more 
demanded  an  Assembly.  The  next  year,  some  traders 


10  Petition,  Dec.  ?i,  1773:  Can.  Arch.,  Q,  10,  p.  56;  Dartmouth  to  Cramahe, 
May  4,  1774:  ib  ,  p.  55.    See  text  below. 

1 1  §  Can.  Arch.,  Q,  2,  p.  242.     Bourinot,  Can.  under  Brit  Rule,  p.  44. 


GENERAL  GUY   CARLETON 


53 


Demands  for  Self-Government  55 

were  haled  into  court  for  refusing  to  pay  the  old  French 
customs  duties  levied  still  by  the  government;  and  the 
refusal  of  the  jury,  drawn  from  the  mercantile  class,  to 
convict  them,  has  been  thought  probably  due  to  resentment 
at  the  delay  in  summoning  a  legislature.  Then,  for  a 
time,  quiet  returned.18 

In  June,  1767,  Shelburne  wrote  Carleton  that  the  privy 
council  had  the  subject  of  improving  the  constitution  of 
Quebec  '  under  the  most  serious  and  deliberate  consider 
ation.'  It  was  too  serious,  apparently,  to  result  in 
action;  but  news  of  the  matter  seems  to  have  been  sent 
across  to  the  British  merchants  in  Canada,  and,  at  the 
beginning  of  1768,  the  Governor  wrote  that  the  agitation 
for  an  Assembly,  which  he  thought  had  been  given  up  the 
year  before,  had  reappeared,  the  leaders  being  *  egged  on 
by  letters  from  home.'  much  as  the  commotions  in  the 
Colonies  were  stimulated  by  political  sympathizers  across 
the  water.13 

In  1770,  Carleton  sailed  for  the  mother  country;  and,  as 
he  was  known  to  stand  in  opposition  to  the  wishes 
of  the  British-Canadians,  it  seemed  necessary,  perhaps,  to 
counteract  his  influence.  At  all  events,  another  peti 
tion  made  the  voyage  at  about  the  same  time,  demanding 
an  Assembly  under  the  'promise'  of  1763. 14  How  wel 
come  this  fresh  reminder  of  an  obligation  that  could  not 
be  kept  seemed  to  the  home  government  can  easily  be 
imagined;  but  imagination  pauses  a  little  when  it  finds 
the  petitioners  requesting,  after  the  language  of  the  proc 
lamation,  that  it  be  called  '  in  such  a  manner  as  is  used 
in  those  provinces  in  America  under  your  Majesty's 


12  §  Petition  against  Murray:  Can.  Arch.,  B,  8,  p.  6.  Coffin,  Quebec  Act. 
p.  314.  But  the  speech  of  the  Attorney-General  at  a  similar  trial  in  1769  would 
seem  to  suggest  that  the  resentment  was  due  to  the  failure  of  the  government 
to  put  the  English  laws  into  force  (Coffin,  p.  315).  Can.  Arch.,  "  Commissions," 
pp.  304,  305. 

1J  §  Shelburne,  June  20,  1767:  Can.  Arch.,  Q,  4,  p.  129.  Carleton,  Jan.  20, 
1768:  ib.,  Q,  5,  i,  p.  370. 

1 4  Can.  Arch.,  Q,  7,  p.  359. 


56    Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

immediate  government/ — provinces  already  forming  in 
line  for  '  rebellion.'  Then  quiet  fell  once  more  upon  the 
scene,  for  the  merchants,  having  represented  the  case,  went 
about  their  affairs. 

In  1773,  however,  it  began  to  look  more  than  ever  as  if 
something  would  be  done  about  the  government  of  Canada,, 
and  the  activity  of  the  petitioners  redoubled.  A  partic 
ular  danger  served,  apparently,  as  the  primer  of  their 
zeal.  A  report  got  abroad  in  Great  Britain  that  a  duty 
on  spirits  would  be  imposed  upon  the  province  by  the 
authority  of  Parliament;  and  the  news,  wrote  Cramahe, 
was  transmitted  by  one  of  the  '  Correspondents '  of  the 
merchants.15  On  this,  a  Mr.  McCord,  who  had  come  from 
the  north  of  Ireland  soon  after  the  Conquest,  and  built  up 
a  very  snug  little  business  at  Quebec  as  a  retail  dealer, — 
particularly  of  liquors, — invited  the  chief  Protestants  of 
the  town  to  meet.  On  the  thirtieth  of  October,  at  least 
forty-one  of  them  came  together.  Thirty-eight  voted 
in  favor  of  moving  once  more  for  an  Assembly;  and, 

three  days 
later,  an 
other  meet 
ing  decided 
to  begin 
with  a  peti 
tion  to  the 
Lieutenant  - 
Governor  in 

Council,  to  invite  the  French  citizens  to  meet  the 
committee  on  the  following  Thursday,  and  to  furnish 
the  people  at  Montreal  with  a  transcript  of  the  re 
cords,  so  that  all  might  work  in  harmony.16 


1 5  Cramah£  to  Dartmouth,  July  15,  1774:  Can.  Arch.,  Q,  10,  p.  79. 

J 6  Compare  Cramahe  to  Dartmouth,  Dec.  13,  1773  (Can.  Arch  ,  Q,  to,  p.  22) 
with  the  report  of  the  meetings  in  ib.,  p.  n  ;  Maseres,  Account,  pp.  1-35.  The 
petitions,  etc. :  Can.  Arch.,  Q,  10,  pp.  46,  51,  56. 


Demands  for  Self-Government  57 

The  idea  of  getting  the  support  of  the  Canadians  was 
not  new.  It  had  grown  up  naturally,  as  the  British 
realized  their  influence  over  their  fellow  subjects  and  the 
importance  of  making  every  possible  effort.  All  summer 
Mr.  McCord  had  been  at  work  along  that  line;  and  now, 
as  the  leading  spirit  of  the  committee,  he  labored  at  it 
more  than  ever.  But  here  came  a  real  difficulty.  Were 
the  French  to  have  full  representation  and  full  rights  in 
the  legislature?  If  not,  they  were  probably  better  off 
without  such  an  institution,  for  the  home  government, 
naturally  desirous  that  Canada  as  a  whole  should  be 
prosperous  and  contented,  was  much  more  likely  to  treat 
them  equitably  than  fellow  citizens  who  could  make  sub 
stantial  profits  by  oppressing  them.  Evidently  afraid  of 
being  used  merely  as  catspaws,  they  declined  to  join  the 
British  in  petitioning  for  an  Assembly  except  on  this  basis; 
the  British  refused  to 'dictate'  details  to  His  Majesty; 
the  plan  of  co-operation  fell  through ;  and  the  former 
petitioners  had  to  go  on  alone  once  more.17 

First  they  addressed  the  lieutenant-Governor ;  and 
then,  as  he  assumed  a  perfectly  non-committal  attitude, 
they  proceeded  to  petition  the  King  and  memorialize  the 
Karl  of  Dartmouth.  Walker  and  almost  all  the  British  in 
Montreal  and  Quebec  outside  of  the  government  circle 
took  hold.  Francis  Maseres,  recently  the  Attorney- 
General  at  Quebec,  a  very  active,  able  and  well-informed 
man,  became  their  L,ondon  agent18;  and  his  faultless 
ruffles,  tie-wig,  and  three-cornered  hat,  so  dear  to  all  who 
loved  the  Inner  Temple,  could  be  seen  moving  briskly 
about  the  city  on  this  business.  But  in  spite  of  all  the 
striving,  an  Assembly  did  not  come.19 

1 1  §  See  Note  16.     Maseres,  Add.  Papers,  pp.  20-48. 

is  For  Maseres:  Diet.  Nat.  Biog.,  XXXVI.,  p.  407  ;  Morgan,  Celeb.  Canads.; 
Iv'Electeur,  iojanv.,  i8gi  ;  I^amb,  Essays  of  Elia,  p.  159. 

i9  §See  Note  16.  Agent:  Carleton  to  Dartmouth,  Nov.  11,  1774  CCan.  Arch., 
Q,  ii,  p.  n).  Maseres  himself  did  not  consider  the  province  ripe  for  an. 
Assembly  (Letter  to  Dartmouth,  Jan.  4,  1774:  Can.  Arch.,  Q,  10,  p.  8). 


58    Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

In  fact,  nothing  came  just  then.  It  has  been  said  that 
the  British  administration  was  'studying,'  all  this  while, 
the  problem  of  Canada;  but  if  so,  it  studied  in  a  very 
languid  and  tropical  sense.  The  decade  from  1760  to  1770 
was  a  lean  period,—'  ten  years  of  weak  governments  and 
party  anarchy,'  as  Lecky  has  said  ;  and,  even  after  North 
stepped  shrinkingly  into  Grafton's  narrow  shoes,  it  re 
quired  some  time  to  get  the  machinery  into  motion. 
Between  1763  and  1772,  the  seals  of  the  Secretary  of  State 
changed  hands  a  dozen  times.  '  When  the  house  is  on 
fire,  one  does  not  trouble  oneself  about  the  stable,'  the 
French  minister  had  said,  not  long  before,  with  reference 
to  Canadian  difficulties;  and  British  public  men,  shivering 
at  the  thought  of  the  Arctic  snows  deposited  in  Canada 
by  their  own  imaginations,  busied  themselves,  with  much 
the  same  feeling  as  the  Frenchman's,  in  the  battles  and 
intrigues  of  their  home  politics.20 

But  Governor  Carleton  had  put  his  shoulder  squarely 
to  the  wheel,  and  finally,  after  all  these  years  of  waiting, 
it  began  to  move' 

Though  he  neither  admired  nor  liked  certain  elements 
of  the  population,  his  course  did  not  spring  from  hostility. 
He  aimed,  not  to  destroy,  but  to 
upbuild;  not  to  injure  but  to 
benefit.  Here  was  a  mass  of 
ignorant  people,  unable  to  guide 
their  own  destinies  but  happily 
provided  with  leaders,  the  noblesse 
and  the  clergy.  In  1766  Murray 
had  written,  after  rather  a  long 
stay  in  Canada:  The  peasants 
WEDDERBURN  '  have  been  accustomed  to  respect 

and   Obey    their    Noblesse,    their 
Tenures    being   Military   in  the   Feudal     Manner;    they 

20  §Bourinot,  Can.  under  Brit.  Rule,  p.  44.     I^ecky,  Hist.  Eng.,  I.,  p.  x. 


Carleton's  Motives  59 

have  Shared  with  them  the  dangers  of  the  Field;  and 
natural  Affection  has  been  increased  in  proportion  to 
the  Calamities  which  have  been  Common  to  both 
from  the  Conquest  of  their  Country.'  How  reasonable 
this  appeared  to  men  of  the  upper  caste,  and  how  well 
supported  by  the  traditional  manners,  not  yet  lost,  of  the 
people  !  While,  as  for  the  priests,  the  foundations  of  their 
power  seemed  even  firmer  as  well  as  deeper.  If,  now,  the 
wishes  of  these  leaders  were  met,  the  people  would  be 
satisfied;  they  would  be  happy.21 

At  the  same  time,  the  empire  would  be  strengthened; 
for,  as  L,aterriere  said,  while  every  place  in  the  govern 
ment  went  as  a  matter  of  course  to  British  subjects,  the 
Canadians  were  indifferent;  this  indifference  might  lead 
easily  into  discontent ;  and  discontent  in  Canada  would 
be  peculiarly  dangerous.  Here,  said  the  Governor,  were 
but  a  few  soldiers,  with  no  sure  place  for  magazines,  arms, 
or  troops,  'amidst  a  numerous  Military  people,  the  Gentle 
men  all  officers  of  experience,  poor,  without  hopes'  of 
admission  to  the  service  of  Great  Britain;  while  on  the 
border  lay  Colonies  meditating  resistance,  and  across  the 
sea  stood  an  ancient  foe,  allied  by  blood  to  these  Cana 
dians.  That  'the  interests  of  many  would  be  greatly 
promoted  by  a  revolution,'  he  saw  plainly;  yet  the  British 
had  '  done  nothing  to  Gain  one  Man  in  the  province,  by 
making  it  his  private  interest  to  remain  the  King's 
Subject.'  The  existing  situation,  therefore,  could  not  be 
suffered  to  continue  ;  a  remedy  must  be  found.22 

That  remedy — which  was  also  to  make  the  Canadians 
happy — was  the  fateful  Quebec  Act  of  1774.  By  this  law, 
the  province  was  extended  on  the  east  as  far  as  the  rocks 

2 '  §  That  Carletpn's  ideas  were  benevolent  and  were  dominant  in  moulding 
the  Act  is  unquestioned,  and  evidence  may  be  found,  e.g.,  in  his  testimony 
before  the  Commons:  Cavendish,  Debates.  See  also,  Nat.  Diet.  Biog  ,  IX.,  p. 
94.  Murray  to  Shelburne,  Aug.  20,  1766:  Brit.  Mus.,  Add.  MSS.,  21,668,  p.  i. 

2  ?  §  I,aterri&re,  M£m.,  p.  63.  Carleton  to  Hillsborough,  Nov.  20,  1768:  Pub. 
Rec.  Off.,  Colon.  Corres.,  Quebec,  5,  last  letter. 


60    Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

and  fisheries  of  Labrador,  while  its  bounds  on  the  south 
west,  making  a  magnificent  bend  along  the  Appalachian 
Mountains  and  the  Ohio  River,  swept  the  territory  of  five 
of  our  present  States  into  the  same  vast  net.  The  Roman 
Catholic  church,  which  had  merely  been  tolerated  by  the 
wording  of  the  treaty,  gained  the  new  power  of  compell 
ing  its  communicants  to  pay  their  dues.  It  was  also 
enacted  that  while  the  criminal  law  of  England  should 
continue  in  force,  the  civil  law — the  defence  of  property — 
should  be  that  of  France;  and  a  Governor  and  Council, 
appointed  directly  or  indirectly  by  His  Majesty  and  so 
within  easy  reach  of  his  displeasure,  were  to  modify  the 

old  laws  and  create  the  new 
ones.  Not  only  was  no  Assem- 
bly  granted,  but  the  express 
annulment  of  that  darling 
'  promise '  appeared  to  quench  all  hope  of  self-rule ; 
and  thus  a  safety-valve  was  transformed  into  a  bomb.23 

Other  apples  of  discord,  fair-looking  enough,  were 
thrown  into  Canada  by  this  Act,  though  Dartmouth — 
with  a  troubled  look  on  his  genial,  handsome  face — hon 
estly  described  it  as  '  founded  in  the  most  anxious  good 
Wishes  for  its  Welfare  and  Prosperity.'  To  the  extension 
of  territory  no  serious  objection  was  made,  but  the  new 
status  of  the  Roman  church  called  forth  many  protests. 
To  give  the  priests  legal  aid  in  collecting  their  tithes  ap 
peared  in  some  eyes  like  4  establishing '  the  popish  con 
fession,  and  the  fires  of  Smithfield  were  still  too  near  for 
anything  like  Romish  power  to  please  good  Protestants. 
The  government, however,  felt  able  to  take  the  ground  that 
all  this  lay  involved  in  toleration;  that  it  was  necessary 
for  the  protection  of  Catholic  worship  against  the  British 
of  Quebec;  for,  according  to  the  Attorney-General,  some 


23  §Can.   Arch.,  Q,  56,  2,  p.  500(501);    Houston,  Const.  Docs.,  pp.  61,  90; 
Smith,  Canada,  II.,  p.  73. 


The  Quebec  Act  61 

1  very  laudable,  good  Protestants  among  them '  wanted 
the  anti-popery  laws  'carried  fully  into  execution,'  lodg 
ing  '  a  general  presentment  against  all  the  [other]  inhab 
itants  of  the  colony  for  being  Papists ' ;  and  evidently 
such  fanatics  might  exert  themselves  to  cripple  the  Roman 
church  by  stimulating  the  people  to  pay  no  tithes.24 

Besides,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  Protestantism  seemed  amply 
safeguarded.  The  King  was  to  be  supreme,  and  Carle- 
ton's  Instructions  explained  what  that  meant.  '  All  ap 
peals  to,  or  correspondence  with  any  foreign  ecclesiasti 
cal  jurisdiction  of  what  nature  or  kind  soever'  should  be 
'absolutely  forbidden  under  very  severe  penalties.'  All 
exercise  of  Roman  Catholic  functions  must  be  under  the 
license  of  royal  authority,  and  only  a  Canadian  by  birth 
could  be  appointed  to  a  benefice.  On  a  request  from  the 
majority  of  the  inhabitants  of  a  parish,  a  Protestant  min 
ister  was  to  be  appointed  there  and  receive  all  the  tithes, 
while  no  Protestant  should  ever  pay  tithes  to  the  Roman 
authorities.  Catholic  ecclesiastics  might  marry  if  they 
would,  and  burial  in  churches  and  churchyards  must  be 
allowed  '  to  every  Christian  Persuasion.'  Certainly  the 
Protestants  had  little  to  complain  of  under  this  head.26 

The  Canadians,  however,  felt  highly  incensed.  This 
blunt,  this  absolute  assertion  of  the  King's  ecclesiastical 
supremacy  sounded  rough  ;  and  how  could  they  possibly 
enjoy  seeing  unblest  hands  laid  so  heavily  on  the  sacred 
vessels?  Probably  they  did  not  enjoy  it;  but  something 
quite  unforeseen  and  quite  different  eclipsed  that  grievance. 
As  early  as  the  year  of  the  treaty  (1763),  Murray  wrote 
that  his  Canadians  did  not  care  much  for  the  hierarchy,  and 
would  be  satisfied  if  given  their  parish  priests.  So  much 

24  §  Dartmouth  to  Carleton,  Apr.  15,  1775:  Can.  Arch.,  Q,  n,  p.  127;  por 
trait  belonging  to  Dartmouth  College.  Atty.-Gen. ;  Cavendish,  Debates,  p.  32. 
Treaty,  Art.  IV. :  Collection  of  Acts,  p.  24. 

2  5  §  Supremacy  see  Quebec  Act  in  Houston,  Const.  Docs  ,  p.  90;  Maseres, 
Account,  p.  84.  Instructions  Can.  Arch.,  M,  230,  p.  134,  §  21  (the  instructions 
were  not  drawn  up  until  Jan.  5,  1775). 


62    Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

the  Quebec  Act  certainly  allowed  them.  The  trouble  was 
that  it  gave  more.  Since  the  Conquest  they  had  been  able 
to  do  as  they  pleased  about  the  church  dues,  and  they  had 
found  that  system  pleasant.  As  a  letter  in  the  Public 
Advertiser  said,  they  had  '  lived  exempt  and  happy  for  the 
space  of  fifteen  years,'  but  now  '  the  compulsive  obliga 
tion  '  to  pay  had  been  *  unnecessarily  and  officiously 
revived/  No  doubt  the  Bishop  held  a  different  opinion 
on  this  point;  but  the  opening  of  a  purse  and  the  extract 
ing  of  silver  therefrom  lay  well  within  the  intellectual 
capacity  of  Jacques  Bonhomme.  On  that  subject  at  least, 
he  was  able  to  think  for  himself.26 

But  if  the  Canadians  could  sing  the  dominant  part  on 
this  theme,  the  British  had  their  turn  on  the  next. 

The  same  proclamation  of  1763  had  announced,  as  with 
a  flourish  of  trumpets,  that  '  all  persons  inhabiting  in  or 
resorting  to  our  said  colonies  may  confide  in  our  Royal 
Protection  for  the  enjoyment  of  the  benefit  of  the  laws  of 
England,'  and  another  sentence  appeared  to  place  the 
criminal  and  the  civil  law  on  the  same  footing  in  this 
regard.  But  the  civil  law  did  not,  like  the  criminal 
branch,  follow  the  flag  as  a  matter  of  course;  and  the 
Crown  lawyers  explained  in  1766  that  it  was  not  the 
intention  *  at  once  to  abolish  all  the  usages  and  customs 
of  Canada  with  the  rough  hand  of  a  conqueror.' 
Hillsborough,  who  had  a  leading  part  in  drawing  the  proc 
lamation,  wrote  Carleton  officially,  as  Secretary  of  State, 
that  *  it  had  never  entered  into  our  idea  to  overturn  the 
laws  and  customs  of  Canada  in  regard  to  property,  but 
that  justice  should  be  administered  agreeably  to 
them,  according  to  the  modes  of  administering  justice  .  .  . 
in  this  kingdom';  and  in  1774  the  Attorney-General 
calmly  observed  that  he  '  never  imagined  that  a  proclama- 


26  §  Murray  to  Halifax,  Oct.  23,   1763;  Can.  Arch.,  Q,  r,  p.  251.      Letter  in 
Pub.  Advertiser,  Dec.  29,  1775:  quoted  by  Maseres,  Add.  Papers,  p.  147. 


THE   EARL  OF   DARTMOUTH 


The  Question  of  Laws  65 

tion  so  exceedingly  loose  and  general  could  be  pleaded  as 
an  authority.'  27 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  civil  laws  of  the  aforetime  con 
tinued  in  effect;  and  the  British-Canadians  little  relished 
this  interpretation  of  His  Majesty's  assurance.  It  has 
been  called  a  sound  principle  that,  if  one  use  ambiguous 
expressions,  one  must  submit  to  any  reasonable  con 
struction  they  will  bear;  and  it  had  seemed  fair  to  con 
clude  from  the  proclamation  that  English  laws,  well 
understood  and  thoroughly  trusted,  would  throw  their 
protecting  arms  round  the  property  of  all  British  settlers 
in  Canada.  And  now  something  worse  yet  had  come.  To 
have  the  ambiguity  cleared  up,  indeed,  but  cleared  up  in 
the  wrong  sense  excited  indignant  alarm,  and  that  grew 
still  deeper  when  Holt's  paper  informed  the  public  that  a 
motion  proposing  an  optional  jury  as  an  amendment  to  the 
Act,  expressly  *  in  order  that  the  English  merchants  might 
have  some  remedy  to  protect  their  property,'  was  opposed 
by  the  government  and  lost  by  a  vote  of  forty  to  eighty- 
three.  *  Individuals  bred  up  in  a  country  where  trial  by 
jury  does  not  prevail,'  Solicitor-General  Wedderburn  had 
argued,  *  would  find  it  very  difficult  to  exercise  the  office 
of  a  juryman.  They  would  consider  it  a  hardship.'28 

Carleton's  return  to  Quebec  (September,  1774)  after  the 
passage  of  the  Act,  seemed  at  first  a  joyous  event,  how 
ever,  confirming  every  presage  of  Canadian  satisfaction. 
The  noblesse  and  the  clergy  pressed  to  his  side.  The 
people  about  him,  as  he  wrote  to  Gage,  appeared  to 
show  'the  strongest  Marks  of  Joy  and  Gratitude.' 
Those  more  remote,  so  he  informed  the  Earl  of  Dartmouth, 
( in  all  their  Letters  and  Addresses,  expressed  the  same 
Sentiments.'  Many  at  Quebec,  even  of  the  British,  in 

27  §  Proclamation .  see  Note  2.    Coffin,  Quebec  Act,  pp.  332,  333,  352.     1766: 
Smith,  Canada,  II.,  p.  27.      Hillsborough,  Mar.  6    1768    Can.  Arch.,  Q,  5,  i,  p. 
344.    Att.-Gen. :  Cavendish,  Debates,  pp.  56,  71.    See  REMARK  I. 

28  §  Continued:  Cavendish,  Debates,  pp.  56,  102,  108.    N.  Y.  Journal,  Aug. 
n,  1774.    Wedderburn ;  Cav.  Deb.,  p.  56. 

VOL.  I.— 5. 


66    Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

spite  of  advice  from  England,  presented  an  Address  full 
of  a  '  Wish  to  see  universal  Harmony  and  a  dutifull 
Submission  to  Government  continue ' ;  and  Hey,  the 
Chief-Justice,  declared  that  his  letters  represented  the 
Canadians  as  'happy  beyond  all  expression.'29 

But  such  papers  have  often  been  deceitful.  A  petition 
from  certain  of  the  Canadians  had  served  as  the  ground 
for  passing  the  Quebec  Act;  yet  was  it  not  asserted  that 
the  signers,  instead  of  representing  the  people — who  did 
not  even  know  such  a  document  existed — were  their 
ancient  oppressors,  or  else  were  men  who  dared  not  refuse 
to  sign,  though  now,  like  repenting  Judas,  they  dared 
bewail  the  consequences  of  their  act?  And  who  could  not 
imagine,  when  the  Governor  and  his  lady  stepped  ashore 
at  Quebec  on  a  fine  Sunday  afternoon  under  the  splendid 
autumn  sky  of  Canada,  when  the  cannon  roared  from  the 
ramparts,  when  the  Lieutenant-Governor  in  his  gold-laced 
uniform  and  all  the  clergy  in  their  robes  greeted  him  at 
the  landing,  when  th,e  '  popish '  Bishop  kissed  him  and 
was  promptly  rewarded  with  a  place  at  his  right  hand  in 
the  gilded  chaise;  and  when,  in  this  manner,  amid  the 
plaudits  of  the  populace,  he  proceeded  in  triumphal  slow 
ness  to  the  Castle, — who  could  not  imagine  the  feelings 
of  '  the  beggarly  English,'  as  it  was  reported  that  he  had 
been  pleased  to  style  them?30 

Yes,  their  feelings  could  be  imagined  easily;  and  to 
appreciate  what  followed  required  no  imagination  at  all. 
The  Protestants  looked  on  with  a  growing  rage  while,  as 
they  bitterly  said,  the  Governor  'very  genteelly  introduced 

2q  §  To  Gage,  Sept.  20,  1774:  Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Colon.  Corres .,  Quebec,  10,  p. 
163;  to  Dartmouth,  Nov.  n,  1774-  ib.  n,  p.  17.  Addresses.  Can.  Arch.,  Q,  n, 
pp.  ir,  iq,  108.  (The  Essex  Gazette,  however,  of  May  2,  1775,  reported  that  only 
twenty  persons  could  be  found  in  Quebec  to  sign  an  Address  of  thanks  for  the 
Act.)  Hey  to  Dartmouth,  Nov.  23,  1774:  Roy.  Hist.  MSS.  Comm.,  Rep.  u, 
App.  5,  P-  370. 

30  §  Petition  Maseres,  Account,  pp.  m,  117,  131;  Add.  Papers,  p.  101 
(quoted  letter).  Signers:  letter  from  Quebec,  Nov.  q,  1775  4  Force,  III.,  1417. 
Did  not  know  Maseres,  Account,  p.  133.  Scene,  etc. :  Letter  from  Quebec  of 
Sept.  20,  1774,  in  N.  Y.  Journ.,  Oct.  6,  1774. 


Bitter  Discontent  67 

Popery.'  Angrier  still,  they  heard  some  of  the  French 
boasting  to  one  another,  'Now  all  our  laws  will  be  made 
by  the  General  and  the  Bishop,'  and  saw  the  noblesse, 
prouder  and  more  insolent  than  ever,  hurrying  from  all 
quarters,  like  so  many  buzzards,  to  attend  the  Governor's 
ball  on  the  Queen's  birthnight,  in  the  full  expectation  of 
going  home  with  commissions  in  their  pockets,  or  a 
delightful  perspective  of  the  bench  and  council-board  in 
their  eyes.  French  gentry  and  English  soldiers  were  in 
future  to  be  the  favorites  more  than  ever,  they  groaned, 
while  the  enterprising  merchants  who  made  the  country 
prosper,  were  beyond  that  pale  of  law  which  guarded  the 
meanest  wretch  in  a  British  gutter  !31 

The  discontent  soon  found  words,  and  they  were  sharp. 
No  juries  any  longer  in  civil  cases  !  exclaimed  the  Opposi 
tion.  No  Habeas  Corpus  !  A  mere  Order  in  Council  em 
powered  to  invent  new  crimes  !  The  bulwarks  of  property 
overthrown  !  The  palladium  of  freedom  lost  !  And  the 
French,—  they  made  an  artistic  antiphony  of  the  song  by 
wailing,  We  have  thriven  under  English  laws,  why  must 
we  change?  The  old  land  customs  mean  feudal  tenure, 
feudal  rule,  the  foot  of  the  noblesse  on  our  necks.  Again 
we  must 
shoulder  mus 
kets  under 
the  swords  of 
these  petty 
tyrants  !  A- 

gain  we  must  pay  them  salaries  and  pensions  !  Again 
we  shall  be  driven  to  attack  our  neighbors  on  the 
south,  and  have  to  stand  perpetually  on  guard  against 
their  resentment  !  Despotism  was  bad  enough,  but  this 
lew  tyranny  under  the  mask  of  law  we  abhor.  'What 


68    Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

will  be  your  Hardships  astonishment,'  wrote  Hey  to  the 
Lord  Chancellor;  '  What  will  be  your  Lordships  astonish 
ment  when  I  tell  you  that  an  act  passed  for  the  express 
purpose  of  gratifying  the  Canadians  &  which  was  sup 
posed  to  comprehend  all  they  either  wished  or  wanted  is 
become  the  first  object  of  their  discontent  &  dislike.'32 

Thomas  Walker,  already  active,  now  doubled  his  pace, 
as  Carleton  soon  discovered.  'A  General  Meeting  of  the 
English  Inhabitants'  convened  at  Montreal;  and,  when 
their  plans  had  matured,  Walker,  Price,  and  four  others 
went  as  a  committee  to  Quebec.  As  soon  as  busy 
'Emissaries'  had  prepared  the  ground  there,  a  summons 
was  posted  up  in  the  Coffee  House.  Messengers  bearing 
verbal  notices  hurried  from  door  to  door.  A  gathering 
took  place;  a  committee  was  appointed;  *  Town  Meetings ' 
and  sessions  of  the  joint  committees  followed;  and  measures 
were  eagerly  canvassed — though  in  profound  secrecy —for 
securing  amendment  or  repeal  of  the  *  abominable  Act.' 
Well  might  the  Governor  fear  the  consequences  'of  an 
Infection,  imported  daily,  warmly  Recommended,  and 
spread  abroad  by  the  Colonists  here,  and  indeed  by  some 
from  Europe,  not  less  violent  than  the  Americans,' 
though  he  believed  that  '  for  the  present '  it  could  '  only 
excite  a  trifling  and  momentary  Agitation.'33 

As  for  the  French  commoners,  while  some  voiced  more 
or  less  publicly  the  general  discontent,  and  others,  troop 
ing  to  the  Castle,  paid  homage  to  the  all-powerful  Gov 
ernor,  the  mass  of  them,  feeling  timid  as  well  as  dissatis 
fied,  stood  sullen  and  silent.  Though  '  greatly  alarmed  at 


22  §  Hab.  Corp.;  Maseres  Account,  p.  240.  N.  Y.  Journ.,  Nov.  TO  1774, 
(Letter  from  Montreal);  Maseres  before  the  House  of  Commons:  Cavendish, 
Debates,  p.  133.  The  French  cry:  Maseres,  Account,  p.  133  and  Add.  Papers, 
p.  ioi ;  N.  Y.  Journ.,  Nov.  u,  1774  (Letter  from  Montreal);  Maseres,  Add. 
Papers,  p.  458  ;  Almon,  Remembrancer,  1776,  Part  I.,  p.  130.  Hey  to  Chancellor, 
Aug.  28,  1775:  Pub.  Rec.  Oft.,  Colon.  Corres.,  Quebec,  12,  p.  365. 

33  §  Carleton  to  Dartmouth,  Nov.  n,  1774  Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Colon.  Corres., 
Quebec,  n,  p.  17.  Letter  from  Montreal  in  N.  Y.  Journ.,  Nov.  10,  1774.  Letter 
from  Quebec,  ib.,  Oct.  6,  1774.  Letter,  ib.,  Dec.  i,  1774. 


The  Discontent  becomes  Active  69 

being  put  under  their  former  Laws,'  as  a  gentleman  wrote 
from  Montreal,  they  were  unable  to  think  their  way 
through  the  business,  and  did  not  know  what  to  do.  But 
ere  long  the  agitation  began  to  move  them.  The  noblesse 
had  noted  with  surprise  and  indignation  the  '  Meetings 
and  nocturnal  Cabals'  of  the  British,  as  the  Governor 
styled  them,  dreading  that  some  of  their  own  people  might 
put  their  hands  to  a  paper;  and  soon  it  began  to  be  evident 
that  such  fears  had  a  substantial  basis. s* 

Lord  Dartmouth  hoped  that  'every  man  in  the  Colony 
that  was  not  biassed  by  Passion  and  Prejudice'  would 
approve  of  the  Act,  and  the  hope  came  near  fulfillment, 
since  hardly  a  person  of  the  sort  he  described  existed 
there.  The  results,  however,  were  disappointing.  As 
Carleton  discovered,  the  British  residents — at  least  some 
of  them — were  'exerting  their  utmost  Endeavours  to 
kindle  in  the  Canadians  the  Spirit  that  reigned  in  the 
Province  of  the  Massachusetts,  and  seemed  to  run  through 
most  of  the  other  Colonies ' ;  the  Canadians,  however 
much  in  awe  of  the  government,  appeared  to  be  drawing 
nearer  and  nearer  to  the  British  malcontents;  and  the 
country  went  hurrying  on  toward  what  the  Chief-Justice 
called  as  gloomy  a  prospect  'in  point  of  security  &  in 
the  ill  humours  &  evil  dispositions  of  its  inhabitants  .  .  . 
as  could  be  imagined.'35 

34  §  Carletoti  and  N.  Y.  Journ.  of  Nov   TO;  Dec.  i,  1774:  Note  33. 

35  §  To  Carleton.  Apr   15,  1775:  Pub   Rec.  Off.,  Colon.  Torres..  Quebec,  n,  p. 
181.      To  Dartmouth,   Jan.  12,  1775:  Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Colon    Corres.,  Quebec,  u, 
p.  147.    Hey  to  Chancellor,  Aug.  28,  1775:  Note  32. 


Ill 

THE  REVOLUTION  ENTERS  CANADA 

OEM  ARK  ABLY  enough,  the  very  Act  that  did  so 
1\  much  to  alienate  Canada  from  England,  made  the 
Colonials  twice,  yes,  tenfold  as  anxious  to  win  her.  A 
region  so  vast,  with  resources  unfathomed  even  to-day, 
after  a  century  and  a  quarter  more,  had  seemed  valuable; 
but  now  it  became  invaluable.  Hope  was  outdone  by  fear. 
Instead  of  merely  desiring  it,  they  felt  it  must  be  theirs. 

To  be  sure,  it  has  been  denied  that  any  good  grounds 
for  Colonial  alarm  could  be  found  in  the  Act;  and  con 
siderable  support  for  this  view  has  been  discovered.  It 
was  the  fixed  policy  of  the  British  Board  of  Trade  to  dis 
courage  the  settlement  of  whites  in  the  wilderness  beyond 
the  mountains,  because  they  made  trouble  with  the  Indians, 
interfered  with  the  monopoly  of  the  fur  trade,  and  could 
practically  escape  from  the  restrictions  on  American  enter 
prise;  and  this  Act,  quashing  the  claims  of  the  Colonies 
to  that  region  and  setting  up  in  their  place  most  unpala 
table  law,  religion,  and  government,  would  prove  a  mighty 
bar  to  further  immigration.  The  established  commercial 
policy  of  England  could,  then,  explain  the  western  exten 
sion  of  Quebec;  and  to  this  might  be  added  what  Carleton 
stated  to  the  House  of  Commons:  that  courts  of  justice 
could  now  be  set  up  in  the  Ohio  region,  and  it  would  no 
longer  be  regarded  as  'an  asylum  for  all  the  vagabonds.' 1 

i  §  Winsor,  Am.  Hist.  Rev.,  Apr.,  i8q6,  p.  437-     Coffin,  Quebec  Act.,  pp.  423- 
432.    See  the  Pamphlet  by  Knox  (summarized  by  Coffin,  p.  429)  for  a  defence  of 

70 


The  Quebec  Act  71 

In  the  complaint  that  papists  had  been  favored,  Lord 
North  would  see  only  moonshine.  He  did  not  admit  that 
his  bill  would  carry  their  church  beyond  the  limits  of 
ancient  Canada;  'but  if  it  should  do  so,'  he  suavely 
remarked,  with  the  puffing  cheeks  and  aimless  rolling  eyes 
of  a  blind  trumpeter,  '  the  country  to  which  it  is  extended  is 
the  habitation  of  bears  and  beavers. '  With  equal  coolness 
he  explained  away  the  new  right  of  enforcing  church  dues; 
and,  in  short,  plausible  reasons  could  be  given — and  were 
— for  every  section  of  the  law.2 

It  has  been  argued  also  that  in  the  debates  of  Parlia 
ment  upon  the  Act — though  for  ten  successive  nights  the 
House  of  Commons  wrangled  until  one  o'clock,  and  the 
Opposition  orators  pricked  the  government's  armor  at 
every  joint — little  was  said  about  concealed  sinister 
designs  against  the  Colonies,  and  this  little  provoked  no 
attention  on  the  Administration  benches;  and  it  has  been 
urged  very  shrewdly  that,  had  the  Ministers  aimed  the 
law  at  the  troublesome  people  south  of  Canada,  they 
would  have  been  as  open  about  it  as  when  they  passed 
the  Boston  Port  Bill  at  the  same  session. 

But  the  idea  of  humoring  Roman  Catholics  in  order  to 
have  them  ready  for  use  against  Protestant  colonists,  if  it 
really  existed  in  the  mind  of  Lord  North,  was  one  that  he 
must  have  felt  a  peculiar  willingness  to  conceal  from  the 
British  public  at  that  stage;  and  this  was  true  even 
though  he  may  have  believed  the  people  would  permit 
such  a  weapon  to  be  drawn,  should  the  Colonies  actually 
rebel  and  blood  really  flow.  The  Boston  Port  Bill  angered 

the  extension  of  Quebec.  For  the  policy  of  the  Lords  Commrs.  for  Trade  and 
Plant.,  see  Hinsdale;  Old  Northwest,  p.  134.  The  British  conquest  of  Canada, 
removing  all  fear  of  the  French,  had  encouraged  the  Colonials  to  pass  the 
mountains  (Bourinot,  Am.  Hist.  Assoc.  Papers,  V.,  Pt.  III.,  p.  g2).  Dartmouth's 
letter  to  Cramahe,  Dec.  i,  177:5  (Can.  Arch.,  Q,  g,  p.  is?),  intimates  that  the 
narrow  limits  of  Quebec  were  thought  to  be  cramping  the  province.  Carleton: 
Cavendish,  Debates,  p.  145. 

2  §  Cavendish,  Debates,  pp.  10,  12.  'Trumpeter':  Walpole,  Geo.  III.,  IV. 
p.  78. 


72     Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

America,  a  fact  which  signified  little  to  North;  but  order 
ing  French  '  papists  '  to  cut  the  throats  of  British  Protes 
tants  was  liable  to  madden  England,  unless  its  fighting 
blood  were  thoroughly  aflame;  and  that  would  have  sig 
nified  a  great  deal. 

There  were  good  reasons  why  little  could  be  said  about 
hidden  sinister  designs  against  the  Colonies,  even  if  the 
bill  contained  them.  The  Opposition  speakers  had  no 
time  for  deep  reflection  on  the  possibilities  of  the  Act. 
On  the  second  of  May,  Dartmouth  presented  it  to  the 
Lords.  Fifteen  days  later  it  passed  that  chamber.  On  the 
eighteenth  it  came  to  the  Commons,  and  it  was  crowded 
to  a  final  vote  there  with  all  possible  speed.  The  minority 
complained  bitterly  that  no  opportunity  was  given  them  to 
find  out  what  the  bill  meant.  *  The  government  has  left 
us  in  the  dark,'  exclaimed  Barre,  uprearing  his  massive 

*        frame       and 


and   Edmund 

Burke  thundered  in  the  same  key.  Besides,  the  members  of 
the  House  had  been  thoroughly  tired  out  by  a  long  and 
excited  session,  —  so  thoroughly,  indeed,  that  on  the  final 
test  of  strength  only  seventy  members  were  present  out 
of  five  hundred  and  fifty-eight.8 

But  the  tenacity  of  the  Opposition  suggested  that  much 
was  feared  even  though  little  could  be  proved.  '  We  have 
had  as  hard  fighting  and  many  more  battles  to  establish 
government  for  Canada  as  there  were  to  conquer  it!' 
exclaimed  Sir  Thomas  Mills.4  If  the  Cabinet  really  had 
aims  which  they  preferred  to  conceal,  what  better  course 
could  their  speakers  take  than  simply  to  ignore  the  grop- 

3  §  Cavendish,    Debates,   p.   III.      Coffin,   Quebec    Act,    pp.   394,   395,    3.97- 
Maseres.  Proceedings,  p.  222.     Barre1  (Macmillan's  Mag.,  XXXV.,  p.  115  ;  Diet. 
Nat  Biog.,  III.,  p.  275)  and  Burke:  Cavendish,  Debates,  pp.  81,  85. 

4  Coffin,  Quebec  Act,  p.  395. 


The  Quebec  Act  in  England  73 

ing  hints  of  the  Opposition?  And,  finally,  these  hints, 
though  groping,  were  far  from  insignificant.  They  were 
quick,  sharp,  angry  alarums,  as  if  the  Opposition  be 
lieved  an  enemy  lurked  in  the  woods,  but  had  not  yet 
been  able  to  make  sure  arid  hesitated  to  call  out  the  artillery. 
Dunning  invited  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  bill  went 
beyond  the  treaty  stipulations,  and  called  it  a  proposition 
'  to  establish  the  Roman  Catholic  religion  and  tolerate  the 
Protestant  religion.'  5 

1  In  short,  Sir,'  cried  Captain  Phipps,  '  I  see  nothing  in 
this  bill  but  the  language  of  despotism.' 

'  This  is  the  worst  bill  that  ever  engaged  the  attention 
of  a  British  council,'  declared  William  Burke;  '  It  is 
a  bill  to  establish  the  popish  religion— to  establish 
despotism.' 

Over  and  over  again,  Barre  pointed  the  finger  of  deep 
suspicion  at  it;  and  finally,  after  driving  North  to  admit 
that  it  would  allow  French- Canadians  to  serve  in  the 
British  army,  he  declared  something  had  now  been  found 
that  struck  him  'with  a  more  serious  and  deep  detesta 
tion  '  of  the  plan  than  anything  before.  This,  he  believed, 
was  a  scheme  to  '  raise  a  Popish  army  to  serve  in  the 
colonies,'  making  the  Canadians  'the  taskmasters'  of 
their  neighbors,  '  and,  in  the  end,  their  executioners.' 

A  'mischievous  bill,'  protested  Edmund  Burke,  'the 
King's  pleasure  twisting  itself  about  every  fibre '  of  it. 
'Am  I  sure,'  he  demanded,— his  massive  brow  scowling, 
and  his  rapid  words  driven  almost  headlong  by  still  swifter 
thoughts,—'  Am  I  sure  that  this  despotism  is  not  meant 
to  lead  to  universal  despotism  ?  .  .  .  It  is  evident  that 
this  constitution  is  meant  to  be  both  an  instrument  of 
tyranny  to  the  Canadians,  and  an  example  to  others  of 


1  For  this  and  the  following  remarks  against  the  bill :  Cavendish  Debates 
PP.  '5,  79,  251,  228,  203,  217,  89,  III.,  296;  Ivyttleton  to  Pitt,  pp.  4,  is;  Parl.  Hist.^ 
XVII,  p.  1402.  For  Barre:  Note  3;  Burke:  Diet.  Nat.  Biog.,  VII  p  048 r 
Chatham:  ib.,  XI, V.,  p.  365. 


74    Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

what  they  have  to  expect ;  at  some  time  or  other  it  will 
come  home  to  England.' 

The  last  speaker  on  the  bill  in  the  Commons  ex 
claimed  to  the  presiding  officer  :  *  You,  Sir,  should 
throw  it  over  the  table,  and  somebody  else  should 
kick  it  out  at  the  door,' — a  signal  token  of  the  wrath 
it  had  now  excited ;  and,  when  it  returned  to  the 
Lords  with  the  amendments  of  the  Lower  House,  the 
Karl  of  Chatham,  coming  down  to  his  place  in  spite  of 
broken  health,  and  raising  his  voice  until  a  roll  of  sweet 
but  awful  music  almost  shook  the  chamber,  denounced 
the  proposed  law  as  *  a  most  cruel,  oppressive,  and  odious 
measure  '  ;  '  atrocious,  shallow,  inept '  ;  '  destructive  of 
that  liberty  which  ought  to  be  the  groundwork  of  every 
constitution,'  and  sure  to  lose  the  King  forever  'the 
hearts  of  all  Americans.'  Under  it,  he  declared,  Canada 
would  be  used  some  day  to  quell  British  America. 

Had  the  Ministry  been  unable  to  discover  its  bearings 
when  they  endorsed  the  bill?  Certainly  they  could  not 
plead  ignorance  after  listening  to  such  protests,  yet  they 
stayed  not  their  hand.  Barre,  after  his  outburst  about  a 
popish  army,  turned  squarely  upon  them  in  a  rage,  the 
bullet  in  his  cheek  trembling  and  the  eye  above  it  filled 
with  a  savage  gleam.  '  If  it  be  your  plan — if  it  be  part  of 
your  plan — throw  it  out  here  and  let  it  be  discussed  !'  he 
vociferated.  Could  such  a  challenge  have  passed  un 
heeded  by  every  supporter  of  the  government  in  a  British 
House  of  Commons,  if  there  had  not  been  an  understand 
ing  to  '  lie  low, '  and  say  nothing  on  so  valuable  yet  so 
dangerous  a  project? 

In  truth,  one  cannot  believe  that  the  Ministers  had  no 
thought  of  using  Canada  against  the  Colonies,  unless  they 
possessed  an  extraordinary  gift  for  the  happy  art  of 
forgetting. 

Governor  Hutchinson  had  expressed  the  fear  that  his 


THE   EARL  OF   CHATHAM 


75 


1+          OF 

dUFOR 


Canada  a  Valuable  Weapon  77 

fellow  -  countrymen,  released  from  every  apprehension  of 
new  Frontenacs,  would  throw  off  the  authority  of  their 
sovereign.  Choiseul  himself,  in  negotiating  the  treaty  of 
peace,  told  Stanley,  the  envoy  of  His  Britannic  Majesty, 
precisely  the  same  thing  in  words  the  most  forcible. 
Kalm,  the  Swedish  traveller,  whose  well-thumbed  account 
of  North  America  was  in  many  English  libraries,  ex 
pressed  a  similar  opinion.  Not  a  few  others  felt  and  said 
the  same;  and  Parkman  has  not  hesitated  to  write  that,  if 
the  arms  of  France  '  had  gained  in  Burope  or  Asia  terri 
tories  with  which  to  buy  back  what  she  had  lost  in  Amer 
ica,  then,  in  all  likelihood,  Canada  would  have  passed 
again  into  her  hands.'  The  value  of  the  northern  province 
as  a  check  upon  the  Colonies  had,  then,  been  clearly  point 
ed  out  and  was  clearly  understood  only  a  few  years  before.6 
According  to  so  good  a  witness  as  John  Adams,  Great 
Britain  did  not  forget;  for  he  says  that  the  conquest  of 
Quebec,  which  released  her  subjects  on  the  south  from  all 
dependence  on  British  protection,  '  inspired  her  with  a 
jealousy  which  ultimately  lost  her  thirteen  colonies.' 
And  we  have  still  better  evidence  than  his.  In  1768 
Carleton  himself  wrote  to  the  Secretary  of  State  that  steps 
ought  to  be  taken  to  win  the  support  of  the  Canadian 
French,  so  as  to  have  their  aid  should  France  adopt  the 
policy  of  backing  the  Colonies  '  in  their  independent 
notions.'  *  Canada,'  he  added,  '  might  forever  support 
the  British  interests  on  this  continent  for  it  is  not  united 
in  any  common  principle,  interest  or  wish  with  the  other 
Provinces,  in  opposition  to  the  Supreme  seat  of  Govern 
ment.'  In  short,  he  suggested  using  that  Colony  against 
its  neighbors  on  the  south.7 


6  §  Hutchinson,  Hist.,  III.,  p.  100.     Choiseul:  Parkman,  Montcalm,  II.,  p. 
403.     Kalm:  ib.,  p.  404  (see  Kalm's  list  of  subscribers;.     Parkman,  Montcalm, 
I.,  P-  3- 

7  §  J.  Adams,  Works,  II.,  p.  6r,  note.    Bourinot,  Can.  under  Brit.  Rule,  p. 
67.    Carleton  to  Hillsborough,  Nov.  20,  1768:  Can.  Arch.,  Report  for  1888,  p.  48. 


78     Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

The  British  military  policy  aimed  the  same  way.  In 
the  autumn  of  1774,  General  Gage,  finding  his  throne  in 
Boston  more  and  more  unsteady,  asked  Carleton  '  whether 
a  Body  of  Canadians  and  Indians  might  be  collected, 
and  confided  in,  for  the  Service  in  this  Country,  should 
Matters  come  to  Extremities';  and  Carleton  replied  that 
the  '  Fidelity  and  Zeal '  of  the  Canadians  *  might  be 
depended  on.'  And  a  few  months  later,  General  Haldi- 
mand,  afterward  the  Governor  of  Canada,  wrote  Amherst 
strongly  in  favor  of  employing  Canadians  and  Indians 
'to  reduce  the  four  New  England  governments  to  reason.' 
These  letters,  to  be  sure,  were  a  little  later  than  the  Quebec 
Act;  but  it  is  hard  to  believe,  especially  when  one  con 
siders  the  general  slowness  of  movement  at  that  period, 
that  so  important  an  idea  germinated  and  shot  in  the 
brief  interval,  or  that  no  troubled  official  at  home  had  ever 
enjoyed  the  sweet  pleasure  of  eying  its  fair  bud  of  promise.8 

Be  this  as  it  may,  however.  For  the  present  purpose 
one  mainly  needs  to  explore  the  thoughts,  not  of  British 
Ministers,  but  of  American  patriots;  to  inquire  what  the 
governed  thought  was  meant,  more  than  what  the  govern 
ment  actually  intended  ;  and  no  politic  reserve  hooded 
this  point.  The  Colonies — already  well  advanced  in  their 
resistance  to  what  they  looked  upon  as  tyranny,  and 
naturally  suspicious  of  every  Ministerial  scheme — were 
intensely  alert ;  and  the  Act,  as  it  emerged  more  and  more 
clearly  from  a  mist  of  rumors,  was  studied  on  the  western 
shore  of  the  Atlantic  with  prejudice,  no  doubt,  but  also 
with  acumen.  Even  if  the  extension  of  Quebec  merely 
carried  out  the  steady  policy  of  the  Board  of  Trade,  that 
was  a  policy  of  monopoly  and  restriction  which  the  Colo 
nies  were  determined  to  resist.9  But  far  more  than  this 
was  discovered  in  the  bill. 

s  §  Gage  to  Carleton,  Sept.  4,  1774:  Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Colon.  Corres.,  Quebec, 
10,  p.  159;  reply  :  ib.,  p.  163.  Haldimand  to  Amherst  (in  French),  Dec.  15,  1774: 
Brit.  Mus.,  \dd.  MSS.,  21,661,  fo.  364. 

9  See  protest  of  New  York:  (Hansard),  Parl.  Hist.,  XVIII.,  p.  650. 


The  Quebec  Act  in  America  79 

The  keen  eye  of  Alexander  Hamilton,  for  one,  pierced  it 
through  and  through,  and  his  clear  voice  warned  the 
country  that  a  great  peril  was  near  at  hand.  Who  could 
deny  that  arbitrary  government,  the  very  thing  which 
the  Colonies  declared  the  Ministers  designed  for  them, 
had  now  been  set  up  at  their  threshold?  The  King  '  has 
only  to  inform  the  Governor  and  Council  what  new  laws 
he  would  choose  to  have  passed,'  so  Hamilton  pointed 
out,  'and  their  situation  [as  practically  his  appointees] 
will  insure  their  compliance.'  His  Majesty  has  full 
power,  in  the  same  way,  over  the  courts.  He  can  remould 
even  the  criminal  law.  The  Roman  religion  has  been 
established  by  statute,  for  the  civil  authorities  now 
engage  'not  only  to  protect  but  to  support  it.'  Whatever 
excuse  there  might  be  for  such  a  step  in  the  former  prov 
ince  of  Quebec,  there  can  be  no  necessity  for  it  in  the 
newly  added  region.  Under  such  conditions  no  Protes 
tants  will  go  there.  It  will  be  filled  with  papists;  and  '  these 
colonies,  in  time,  will  find  themselves  encompassed  with 
innumerable  hosts  of  neighbors,  disaffected  toward  them 
both  because  of  difference  in  religion  and  government.' 
In  all  this,  the  Ministry  must  have  had  a  purpose.  Its 
purpose  was  to  increase  the  number  of  Roman  Catholics, 
console  them,  through  the  controlling  influence  of  their 
priests,  for  the  loss  of  civil  rights  by  granting  this 
valuable  religious  gift,  and  *  propitiate  them  to  the  great 
purposes  in  contemplation — first  the  subjugation  of  the 
colonies,  and  afterward  that  of  Great  Britain  itself.'10 

Such  words— at  least  plausible,  and  offset  by  no  super 
human  power  of  discovering  hidden  tenderness  in  the 
hearts  of  King  George  and  Lord  North — received  a 
tremenddus  reinforcement  in  echoes  from  abroad. 

Some   hints   of   the    Opposition   protests    during   the 


10  §  Hamilton,   Works  (I^odge),  I.,  '  Remarks  on  the  Quebec  Act  '  t>t> 
176,  179,  181,  185,  187. 


8o    Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

tmreported  debates  in  Parliament  certainly  crept  into  the 
American  ear.  Lord  Chatham  was  said  to  have  declared 
that  the  Act  would  involve  a  great  country  in  the  worst 
of  tyranny,  and  Lyttleton's  public  Letter,  which  charged 
him  with  protesting  furiously  against  this  *  plan  of 
despotism,'  was  reprinted  at  Boston  in  1774." 

Of  the  opinion  of  the  British  public  in  general,  no  doubt 
seemed  to  be  left.  It  was  reported  in  the  newspapers  that 
when  the  King  passed  along  in  the  state  coach  to  sign 
the  bill  at  the  Parliament  House,  he  was  beset  by  a  crowd 
shouting,  '  No  popery  !  No  French  laws !  No  protestant 
popish  king  ! '  Groans  and  hisses  punctuated  the  cries; 
and  when  he  returned,  after  setting  his  royal  hand  to  the 
parchment,  a  still  wilder  uproar  surrounded  him.  '  God 
bless  your  Majesty's  head,  but  damn  lord  Bute's,' 
bellowed  one  man  into  his  ear,  for  Bute  was  suspected  of 
having  more  than  a  finger  in  the  Act.12 

As  early  as  the  sixth  of  June,  1774,  a  London  letter, 
widely  copied  in  America,  announced  a  petition  of  the 
Mayor,  Aldermen,  and  Common  Council  of  London 
against  the  proposed  law,  and  added,  'The  real  design  of 
the  Quebec  bill,  we  hear,  is  to  make  it  a  military  govern 
ment,  by  way  of  check  to  several  provincial  assemblies, 
.  .  .  and  for  this  purpose  it  is  certainly  very  properly 
situate,  as  it  lies  behind  New  England,  New  York,  Vir 
ginia,  Maryland,  and  Pennsylvania.'13 

A  few  weeks  later,  a  Londoner  cried,  with  reference  to 
the  now  famous  Act,  '  May  the  Almighty  preserve  us,  and 
turn  the  Hearts  of  the  wicked  Men  who  are  seeking  the 
Destruction  of  America  as  well  as  this  Country';  and 
Holt's  press  in  New  York  scattered  the  prayer  broadcast. 

1 1  §  Chatham :  London  letter,  N.  Y.  Journ.,  Sept.  8,  1774,  supplem. 

1 2  §  London  letter  of  June  23  in  N.  Y.  Journ.,  Aug.  25,  1774  ;  also  Young  to 
S.  Adams,  Aug.  21,  1774:  S.  Adams  Papers. 

i-5  For  this  and  several  succeeding  paragraphs:  N.  Y.  Journ.,  Aug.  n; 
Sept.  i,  8,  29;  Oct.  20,  1774;  Sayre  (probably  London),  Aug.  15,  1774  (S.  Adams 
Papers) ;  Winsor  (Am.  Hist.  Rev.,  Apr.,  1896,  p.  442). 


The  Quebec  Act  in  America  81 

Five  days  more,  and  another  citizen  of  the  metropolis 
wrote  over  about  'that  detestable  Quebec  Bill,  which  is  so 
evidently  intended  as  a  bridle  on  the  northern  colonies, ' 
and  gave  notice  that  orders  to  raise  a  Canadian  regiment 
had  already  been  issued. 

On  the  thirteenth  of  August  this  was  despatched  from 
London  :  '  An  express  was  sent  off  about  three  weeks  ago 
to  Canada,  to  arm  the  militia  of  that  country  with  all  con 
venient  speed.  The  reason  of  this  order  may  be  easily 
guessed  at— to  have  a  body  of  forces  in  readiness  to  assist 
the  operations  of  General  Gage  in  reducing  the  malcontents 
of  the  provinces.'  A  similar  warning  was  penned  by  Ste 
phen  Sayre  in  London,  two  days  later  ;  and  he  continued: 
'for  God's  sake  be  ready  for  the  extreme  Event,  ...  't  is 
wisdom  to  avoid  Bloodshed,  but  if  you  are  drove  to  it — 
have  your  sword  on  your  thigh.'  By  September,  the 
popular  protest  in  Great  Britain  against  the  fateful  law, 
doubtless  helped  on  a  little  by  William  Lee,  then  in  Eng 
land,  had  become  'a prodigious  cry,'  says  Winsor.  The 
indignation  spread  to  the 
smaller  towns;  and  Captain 
Colley,  who  brought  his  good 
ship  into  Marblehead  about 
the  twentieth  of  August,  re 
ported  that  when  he  left  Falmouth,  the  people  there,  who 
had  felt  hostile  toward  the  Americans,  had  been  con 
verted  into  friends  by  the  hated  Act. 

Not  far  from  the  middle  of  November,  two  more  letters 
began  their  voyages  westward  across  the  Atlantic.  One 
called  attention  to  the  strategic  position  of  the  new  Que 
bec  on  the  flank  of  the  Colonies,  and  to  the  usefulness  of 
'  our  Popish  fellow-subjects '  there,  for  reducing  '  the 
rebellious  Bostonians  to  obedience';  while  the  other 
suggested  that  the  government's  orders  to  embody  the 
Canadian  militia  pointed  toward  their  joining  the  Indians 


82    Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

and  raiding  *  our  devoted  and  defenceless  Protestant  sub 
jects  in  the  back  settlements.'14 

About  the  same  time,  a  London  journal  printed  an 
imaginary  soliloquy  of  North,  which — like  the  letters — 
appeared  after  a  due  interval  in  the  Colonial  newspapers. 
'  We  must  force  the  Americans  to  submit  by  fire  and 
sword,'  reflected  the  Noble  Lord;  'We  must  raise  some 
regiments  of  Papists  in  Canada  .  .  .  they  will  be  glad 
to  cut  the  throats  of  those  heretics,  the  Bostonians — A 
Popish  army  is  by  much  the  fittest  for  our  purpose— they 
will  obey  the  commands  of  the  crown  without  any 
hesitation — they  have  been  trained  up  in  passive  obedi 
ence.'  '  The  Altar  of  Despotism  is  established  in 
America!'  exclaimed  The  Crisis.™ 

If  such  a  storm  blew  up  in  England,  where  the  danger 
threatened  but  remotely,  what  feelings  were  they  likely 
to  arouse  on  this  side  the  water,  with  chiefs  like  Hamilton 
and  hints  like  these  to  stir  the  popular  heart? 

Very  naturally  the  Quebec  Act  was  looked  upon  here 
as  part  and  parcel  of  the  Ministers'  plan  to  harass  if  not 
destroy  the  Colonists,  and  as  perhaps  the  meanest,  cruelest, 
and  most  dangerous  of  their  schemes.  '  The  port  bill, 
charter  bill,  murder  bill,  Quebec  bill,  making  altogether 
such  a  frightful  system,  as  would  have  terrified  any  people 
who  did  not  prefer  liberty  to  life,  were  all  concerted  at 
once,'  said  Novanglus  to  the  printer;  and  Novanglus, 
who  was  Mr.  John  Adams,  represented  a  very  wide 
spread  feeling.  Hints  of  royal  prerogative,  of  arbitrary 
government,  of  development  barred,  of  escape  cut  off,  of 
swarming  '  papists '  overhead,  and  of  a  stealthy  shadow 
working  round  to  the  rear, — all  these  were  discovered  in 
the  suspected  law.  *  The  spirit  of  the  people  gradually 


14  Essex  Gazette,  Jan.  17,  1775.     (Newspapers  often  bore  two  dates:  e.g.- 
'  Jan.  3-10.'     In  these  notes  the  later  date  only  is  given  \ 

1 5  Essex  Gazette,  Jan.  10,  1775.    Crisis:  4  Force,  II.,  58. 


The  Americans  Alarmed  83 

rose  when  it  might  have  been  expected  to  decline,  till  the 
Quebec  Bill  added  fuel  to  the  fire,'  wrote  Joseph  Reed 
to  Lord  Dartmouth  in  September.  Dray  ton's  letter  to 
a  British  peer  told  the  same  story :  '  the  most  dreadful 
consequences,  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic,'  might  justly 
be  apprehended  from  the  inevitable  '  attempts  to  defeat ' 
this  group  of  Acts.16 

In  the  minutes  of  the  American  Philosophical  Society 
at  Philadelphia — Benjamin  Franklin,  President — could 
be  found  this  reason  for  discontinuing  its  meetings: 
1  The  Act  of  the  British  Parliament  for  shutting  up  the 
port  of  Boston,  for  altering  the  Charter,  and  for  the  more 
impartial  administration  of  justice  in  the  Province  of 
Massachusetts,  together  with  a  Bill  for  establishing 
popery  and  arbitrary  power  in  Quebec.'17 

Richard  Henry  Lee  warned  Samuel  Adams  of  the  inten 
tion  of  the  Ministry  to  '  employ  a  military  force  chiefly 
from  Canada  if  necessary.'  Philip  Livingston  assured 
the  public — with  an  evident  glance  at  His  Gracious 
Majesty,  King  George — that  '  whenever  a  wicked  mon 
arch  in  vengeance  shall  arise,  then  shall  we  behold  him 
the  civil  and  religious  tyrant,  of  a  province  which  extends 
over  half  the  Continent  of  America ' ;  and  how  could  the 
liberties  of  a  country  be  safe,  he  demanded,  when  it  was 
'surrounded  by  a  multitude  of  slaves;  especially  when 
those  slaves  are  imbued  with  principles  inimical  to  it,  and 
united  together  in  one  common  interest,  profession  and 
faith,  under  one  common  head,  and  supported  by  all  the 
weight  of  a  large  empire  '  ?  18 

'  The  whole  nation  has  taken   the  alarm   at  the  bold 


i6  §  Novanglus  :  J.  Adams,  Works,  IV.,  p.  92.  The  Q.  Act  was  '  obviously 
intended  '  to  confine  the  old  colonies  to  the  seaboard  (Bourinot,  Am.  Hist. 
Assoc.  Papers,  V.,  Pt.  III.,  p.  93.  Reed,  Sept.  25,  1774:  W.  B.  Reed,  J.  Reed, 

I.,  p.  476.    Drayton  to  I^ord ,  Sept.  i,  1774  ;  Bancroft  Coll.,  Eng. 

and  Am.,  1769-1774,  p.  261. 

i  ^  Phil.  Soc. :  Can.  Arch.,  Report  for  1890,  pp.  XXI. 

,  Feb.  4,  1775 :  S.  Adams  Papers.    I^iv.,  The  Other  Side,  pp.  23-25. 


Religious  Danger  Scented  85 

attempt  to  establish  the  superstitition  that  sanctifies 
absolute  power,'  declared  Thomas  Young  to  Samuel 
Adams.  'Great  uneasiness  prevails  from  the  report  of 
Gov  Charlton  [i.  e.,  Carleton]  being  ordered  to  discipline 
30  thousand  Men  immediately/  said  John  Pitts  to  the  same 
leader;  and  he  saw  '  great  reason  to  fear '  that  the  move 
was  designed  for  the  subjugation  of  Massachusetts  and 
eventually  the  whole  country.19 

Many  believed  that  popery  would  soon  be  forced  upon 
the  Colonies.      *  What   do   you  think  of  New  England, 
New  York,  etc.?'  queried  a  letter  from  Rome  to  Condon, 
reprinted  at  New  York;  *  Will  they  return  to  the  Church  ? 
If  you  doubt  it,  we  do  not,  as  we  have  great  confidence 
in  the  king's  friends.'     The  town  of  Stamford,  in  Con 
necticut,  denounced  the  Act  as  *  an  attempt  not  barely 
to  destroy  our  civil  liberties,  but  as  an  open  declaration 
that  our  religious  privileges,  which  our  fathers  fled  their 
native  country  to  enjoy,  were  very  soon  to  be  abolished.'20 
A    London  letter,    gravely   published    by    the    Essex 
Gazette,   made    bold   to   say   that   '  by   establishing  the 
Popish  religion  in  the  British  dominions  by  law,  they  had 
removed  the  only  objection  and  impediment  to  the  restora 
tion  of  the  Stuart  family,'  and  pronounced  it  '  absolutely 
impossible '  to  account  for  the  actions  of  the  Ministry 
except   by  crediting  them  with  such  a  design.     Joseph 
Hawley  considered  '  nothing  more   probable '  than  that 
'  the  Province  of  Quebeck,  as  lately  defined,  should  be 
ceded  or  given  up  to  France ' ;  and  Josiah  Quincy  actually 
received  word,  indirectly,  from  what  seemed  a  very  respect 
able   authority,   that  Catholicism   had   been  restored   in 
Canada  under  a  secret  treaty  with  France,  and  that  now 
it  only  remained  to   hand   the   region   back   to   its   old 
masters.     Once  more  the  days  of  Frontenac  might  come, 

19  §  Young,  Aug.  21,  1774:  S.  Adams  Papers.    Pitts,  Oct.  10,  1774:  ib. 
2°  §  Popery :  Gerry  to  S.  Adams,  Dec.  19,  i774  (S.  Adams  Papers).     Better 
from  Rome:  N.  Y.  Journ.,  Feb.  16,  1775.    Stamford:  ib.,  Oct.  20,  1774. 


86    Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

with  all  their  fears  and  miseries,  losses  and  horrors  !  Har 
ried  again  by  Frenchmen  and  Indians,  the  wretched  Colo 
nists  would  have  to  grovel  perpetually  at  the  foot  of  the 
throne,  and  supplicate  a  papist,  perhaps  a  Stuart,  or  at 
any  rate  a  hereditary  tyrant,  for  scanty  and  grudging  aid 
on  any  terms  he  pleased! 21 

Official  bodies  weightier  than  Stamford  town-meetings 
took  the  matter  up.  September  the  twenty-second,  1774, 
Cumberland  County,  Massachusetts,  recommended  that 
preparations  for  defence  be  made,  '  as  the  very  extraordi 
nary  and  alarming  act  for  establishing  the  Roman  Catholic 
religion  and  French  laws,  in  Canada,  might  introduce  the 
French  or  Indians  into  our  frontier  towns. '  On  the  ninth 
day  of  the  same  month,  delegates  from  every  town  and  dis 
trict  in  Suffolk  County  met  under  the  hospitable  roof  of 
Daniel  Vose  at  Milton,  in  Massachusetts  Bay,  and — look 
ing  down  on  sere  marshes  by  and  by  to  be  luxuriant,  and 
on  veins  of  shining  water  that  were  paths  to  an  ocean  just 
out  of  sight — voted  some  plain  Resolves  that  soon  shook 
two  continents.  One  of  them  declared  that  *  the  late  act 
of  parliament  for  establishing  the  roman  catholic  religion 
and  the  French  laws  in  that  exten 
sive  country  now  called  Canada,  is 
dangerous  in  an  extreme  degree, 
to  the  protestant  religion,  and  to 
the  civil  rights  and  liberties  of  all 
America.'  Only  four  days  earlier, 

VOSE'S  HOUSE  that  fledgelin§.  the  first  Continen 

tal  Congress,  had  nested  timidly  in 

Carpenter's  Hall  at  Philadelphia.  Within  a  fortnight  the 
Suffolk  Resolves  arrived  there;  and,  after  due  consider 
ation,  they  were  endorsed  by  the  Congress.22 

21  Sussex  Gazette,  Jan.   10,  1775.     Hawlev:  4  Force,  II.,  n44      Quincy  4. 
Force,  II.,  518. 

22  §  Cutnb.  Co. :   Jouru.  Mass.  Cong-.,  p.  659.     Suffolk   Resolves:  ib.,  p.  601. 
(The  Suffolk  Co.  Convention  met  at  Dedhani  on  Sept.  6,  and  by  adjournment 
at  Milton  on  the  qth.)    Journ.  Cong.,  Sept.  5,  17,  1774. 


The  Quebec  Act  in  Congress  87 

And  that  assemblage  went  farther.  On  the  fifth  of 
October,  it  complained  pointedly  of  the  Quebec  Act.  Nine 
days  after,  it  grouped  that  with  other  statutes  of  the  same 
session  of  Parliament  as  'impolitic,  unjust,  and  cruel,  as 
well  as  unconstitutional,  and  most  dangerous  and  destruc 
tive  of  American  rights.'  Later  that  day,  a  Resolution 
was  adopted  which  expressly  denounced  'the  act  passed 
in  the  same  session  for  establishing  the  Roman  Catholick 
Religion  in  the  province  of  Quebec,  abolishing  the 
equitable  system  of  English  laws,  and  erecting  a  tyranny 
there,  to  the  great  danger,  from  so  total  a  dissimilarity 
of  Religion,  Law,  and  government  of  the  neighbouring 
British  colonies.'23 

Within  less  than  a  week,  the  terms  of  the  famous  Non 
importation  Association  protested  against  the  westward 
extension  of  Quebec,  the  discouragement  of  British 
immigration  into  that  area,  and  the  establishment  of  an 
arbitrary  government  therein.  The  next  day,  an  address 
to  the  People  of  Great  Britain,  after  mentioning  how  the 
Act  would  detach  Canada  from  the  Colonies  'by  civil  as 
well  as  religious  prejudices,'  pictured  its  population  as 
'daily  swelling  with  Catholic  emigrants  from  Europe,' 
and  becoming  so  devoted  to  the  government  which 
favored  their  religion  as  to  be  '  fit  instruments  in  the 
hands  of  power,  to  reduce  the  ancient,  free  Protestant 
Colonies  to  the  same  state  of  Slavery  with  themselves.' 
'This/  declared  the  Congress,  'was  evidently  the  Object 
of  the  Act.'  An  Address  to  the  Colonies,  bearing  the 
same  date,  made  a  similar  charge;  and  the  petition  to 
the  King,  passed  shortly  after,  did  not  fail  to  prolong  the 
strident  note.23 

Were  the  Conscript  Fathers  honest  in  all  this?  Did 
they  really  believe  the  complaints  against  the  Act  well 
founded  ?  It  has  been  answered  by  one  of  our  able  and 

23  §  See  the  published  Journal  (W.  C.  Ford,  ed.). 


88    Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

patriotic  historians  that  such  protests  'were  simply  loose 
sentences  used  for  political  ends.' 

A  vast  conspiracy  existed,  then,  to  humbug  the  world. 
Barre,  Burke,  and  Chatham  burst  into  flames  merely  as 
fireworks.  Hamilton,  who  fearlessly  championed  Cooper 
and  Waddington  simply  because  they  had  the  right  on 
their  side,  was  in  this  case  a  demagogue.  The  patriot 
leaders,  who  filled  their  letters  on  the  subject  with  accents 
of  alarm,  were  not  only  base  enough  to  delude  the  public 
but  foolish  enough  to  hoodwink  one  another. 

No;  as  in  every  such  crisis,  men  sharpened  their  words 
to  make  them  pierce,  but  the  excitement  about  the  Que 
bec  Act  was  essentially  genuine.  People  felt  alarmed  by 
the  terms  of  the  law.  They  felt  alarmed  because  it  was 
devised  by  a  hostile  Ministry,  offered  at  a  delicate  and 
critical  time,  and  passed  without  full  explanations.  They 
felt  alarmed  because  they  saw  it  escorted  on  its  march  by 
the  Boston  Port  Act,  destroying  the  commerce  of  that 
city,  by  the  Massachusetts  Government  Act,  annulling  the 
sacred  charter  of  the  Colony,  and  by  the  Administration 
of  Justice  Act,  haling  American  political  offenders  beyond 
the  sea  for  trial  in  certain  cases.  Even  the  confidential 
reports  of  British  officials  bore  witness  to  the  sincerity  of 
the  alarm.  'People  here  like  not  to  see  this  chain  drawn 
behind  them  from  one  river  to  the  other,'  wrote  Haldimand 
from  New  York;  and  Gage  informed  Dartmouth  that  the 
citizens  about  him  feared  their  religion  was  to  be  changed. 
'They  cannot  be  made  to  believe  the  Contrary,'  he  added.24 

In  the  midst  of  the  alarm,  however,  chinks  could  be 
discovered  in  the  wall  that  seemed  moving  down  from  the 
north  and  closing  in  upon  the  Colonies. 

A  number  of  men  had  recently  migrated  to  Canada  from 

24  §  Bourinot,  Can.  under  Brit.  Rule,  p.  67.  Chain  (i.e.,  from  the  St.  L,aw- 
rence  to  the  Mississippi):  Haldimand  to  Amherst  (in  French),  Sept.  7,  1774 
(Brit.  Mus.,  Add.  MSS.,  21,661,  fo.  356).  Gage,  Oct.  30,  1774:  Bancroft  Coll.,  Eng. 
and  Am.,  1769-1774,  p.  621. 


90    Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

below,  and  an  occasional  letter  proved  they  were  still 
Americans.  In  September,  1774,  residents  of  the  city  of 
Quebec,  who  sympathized  with  Boston  in  her  patriotic 
struggles  and  distresses,  contributed  one  thousand  bushels 
of  wheat;  and  Jonas  Clark  Minot,  a  native  of  Massachu 
setts,  transmitted  them  with  a  cordial  letter  to  the  Boston 
Committee  of  Donations.  At  Montreal,  also,  'a  consider 
able  sum'  was  collected  for  the  same  'sufferers,'  and  for 
warded  in  a  bill  of  exchange.  Perhaps  the  Canadians 
themselves,  it  was  thought,  vanquished  in  battle  only  a 
few  years  before,  would  prefer  freedom  to  the  slavish 
work  of  their  conquerors;  and  in  fact  a  letter  from  Mon 
treal,  printed  in  the  Essex  Gazette  very  early  in  1775, 
asserted  that  'even  the  French  farmers  wish  the  continu 
ance  of  our  liberties.' 25 

To  a  bold  and  original  thinker  like  Samuel  Adams, 
hints  like  these  were  quite  enough,  and  soon  the  Massa 
chusetts  Provincial  Congress  was  feeling  about  for  some 
way  to  get  securely  into  touch  with  the  people  of  the 
north. 

On  the  twenty-first  of  October,  1 774,  it  was  voted  '  to  take 
into  consideration  the  propriety  of  appointing  an  agent  or 
agents,  to  repair  to  the  government  of  Canada,  in  order  to 
consult  with  the  inhabitants  thereof,  and  settle  a  friendly 
correspondence  and  agreement  with  them.'  After  the 
subject  had  come  twice  more  before  the  body,  a  committee 
was  appointed  on  December  sixth  'to  correspond  with  the 
inhabitants  of  Canada  ' ;  and  upon  it  Samuel  Adams  and 
three  of  his  disciples — Hancock,  Warren,  and  Church — 
took  seats,  together  with  a  certain  John  Brown.  On  the 
thirteenth  of  February,  the  idea  of  sending  an  agent 
reappeared;  but,  after  receiving  no  little  attention,  the 


25  §  Quebec:  N.  Y.  Journ.,  Oct.  6,  1774  (Quebec  letter)  ;  Carleton  to  Dart 
mouth,  Nov.  18,  1774  (Can.  Arch.,  Q.  u,  p.  103);  Jeffries  to  Minot,  Oct.  10,  1774 
(ib.,  p.  1015).  Montreal:  Essex  Gazette,  Jan.  10,  1775  ;  Frothingham,  Warren, 
p.  442.  Other  points  will  appear  later. 


92    Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

business  of  corresponding  with  Canada  was  referred  with 
power,  two  days  later,  to  the  Boston  Committee  of  Cor 
respondence,  and  the  Congress  endorsed  the  keenest  fears 
of  the  day  by  pronouncing  it  the  'manifest  design  of  admin 
istration,  to  engage  and  secure  the  Canadians  and  remote 
tribes  of  Indians,  for  the  purpose  of  harassing  and  dis 
tressing  these  colonies,  and  reducing  them  to  a  state  of 
absolute  slavery.'26 

Evidently  the  task  of  getting  into  touch  with  a  people 
so  remote,  so  little  known,  and  at  that  season  shut  off  by 
so  many  leagues  of  snow  and   ice,    puzzled   the   patriot 
leaders;  but  the  urgent  sense  of  danger  soon  produced  its 
prophet.     The  very  day  that  saw  the   business    turned 
over  to  the  active  Boston  Committee,  John  Brown,  doubt 
less  under  the  spell  of  Samuel  Adams,  wrote  a  letter  to 
that  shrewd  toucher  of  springs.     No  certain  intelligence 
could  be  had,  it  seemed  clear  to  him,  unless  a  messenger 
were  sent  as  far  as  Montreal;  and  he  offered  to  undertake 
the  hardships  and  perils  of  the  journey  and  the  mission.27 
The  Committee  met  at  Faneuil  Hall,  as  we  have  seen. 
Brown's  offer  was  accepted;  and  one  may  still  read  the 
letter,  drafted  in  Adams's  clear  hand  and  dated  February 
21 ,  which  was  meant  as  the  first  cord  of  a  bridge  across  the 
gulf.     The  financial  grievances  of  the  Colonies  and  the 
attempt  to  force  arbitrary  rule  upon  Massachusetts  were 
briefly  explained,  and  then  Adams  addressed  himself  to 
the  strings  of  Canadian  feeling:28 

'It  is  an  inexpressable  satisfaction  to  us  to  hear  that  our 
fellow  Subjects  in  Canada,  of  French  as  well  as  English 
Kxtractpon],  behold  the  Indignity  of  having  such  a 
Government  obtruded  upon  them,  with  a  Resentment 
which  discovers  that  they  have  a  Just  Idea  of  Freedom  & 


2  6  §  See  the  published  Journals. 

2  7  His  letter  maybe  found  in  the  S.  Adams  Papers. 

28  §  page  i.    The  draft  of  the  letter  is  among  the  S.  Adams  Papers. 


John  Brown's  Mission  93 

a  due  regard  for  themselves  &  their  Posterity.  They  were 
certainly  misrepresented  in  the  most  Shameful  Manner, 
when,  in  order  to  enslave  them  it  was  Suggested  that  they 
were  too  ignorant  to  enjoy  Liberty.  .  .  .  The  Enemies  of 
American  Liberty  will  surely  be  chagrined  when  they  find 
that  the  People  of  Quebec  have  in  common  with  other 
Americans  the  true  Sentiments  of  Liberty.'  After  thus 
graciously  complimenting  the  Canadians  upon  feelings 
which,  to  tell  the  truth,  he  only  hoped  they  might  enter 
tain,  Adams  expressed  his  joy  over  action  that  he  wished 
rather  than  expected  they  would  take  : 

'How  confounded  must  they  be  when  they  see  those 
very  People,  upon  whom  they  depended  to  aid  them  in 
their  flagitious  Designs,  lending  their  Assistance  to 
oppose  them— cheerfully  adopting  the  Resolutions  of  the 
late  Continental  Congress  and  joyning  their  own  Dele 
gates  in  another,  to  be  held  at  Philadelphia  on  the  loth  of 
May  next.' 

A  sharp  thrust  at  Lord  Dartmouth  followed,  for  his 
endeavor  to  make  His  Majesty's  conduct  appear  consti 
tutional  ;  and  then  Adams  concluded:  'We  beg  that 
you  will  favor  the  Committee  of  Correspondence  by  the 
return  of  this  Message  with  your  own  Sentiments  and 
those  of  the  respectable 29  Inhabitants  of  your  Colony;  and 
shall  be  happy  in  uniting  with  you  in  the  necessary  Means 
of  obtaining  the  Redress  of  our  common  Grievances.' 

John  Brown  was  remarkable  enough  as  a  person  to 
afford  so  ordinary  a  name.  Now  in  his  thirty-first  year, 
he  had  seen — for  one  of  that  day — not  a  little  of  men  and 
things.  Though  born  in  Haverhill,  Massachusetts,  he 
was  a  graduate  of  Yale  College.  His  legal  studies  had 
been  carried  on  at  Providence,  and  later  he  had  opened  an 
office  at  what  is  now  Johnstown,  New  York.  His  pol 
itical  travels  had  been  even  wider,  for  he  began  practice 

29  About  equivalent  in  1775  to  our  '  honorable  '  or  'worthy.' 


94     Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

as  the  King's  Attorney,  but  after  removing,  early  in  1773,. 
to  Pittsfield,  in  the  midst  of  the  Berkshire  highlands,  he 
became  a  member  of  the  Committee  of  Safety  and  Corre 
spondence  and  an  ensign  in  the  patriot  militia.  Strong, 
bold,  active,  well  educated,  resourceful,  and  fearless,  he 
seemed  the  fittest  possible  man  for  the  role  he  undertook.30 

Resigning  his  place  in  the  Massachusetts  Congress,  the 
Committee's  agent  pocketed  their  letter  and  another  from 
Adams  and  Warren  as  members  of  the  Committee  of 
Safety,31  wrapped  up  a  useful  stock  of  patriotic  pamphlets, 
hurried  through  the  crested  drifts,  crossed  the  ice-bound 
Connecticut,  and,  after  a  pause  at  home,  ploughed  on  to  the 
Hudson.  Lake  Champlain  was  impassable  at  that  time  ; 
but  the  delay  of  about  a  fortnight  enabled  him  to  knit  a 
line  of  correspondence  between  Albany  and  Boston,  and 
then,  with  PelegSunderland,  a  weather-beaten  hunter,  and 
Winthrop  Hoyt,  long  a  captive  among  the  Indians  of 
Canada,  he  resolutely  faced  the  north.33 

Desperate  indeed  he  found  the  journey.  The  deep  snows, 
the  short  cold  days,  the  terrible  frost  of  the  nights,  the 
cutting  winds,  the  blinding  storms, — these  were  difficul 
ties  enough  to  appall  a  hero  ;  but  they  proved  not  the 
worst.  Lake  Champlain  could  never  be  satisfied  in  winter 
to  remain  long  either  solid  or  liquid,  and  it  was  now  partly 
both.  Sheets  of  the  ice,  'breaking  loose  for  Miles  in  length 
caugh[t]  our  Craft,'  wrote  Brown,  'drove  us  ag'  an  Island, 
and  frose  us  in  for  2  Days.'  Forty-eight  hours  in  such 
a  grip,  with  no  shelter  but  the  mercies  of  early  March, 
satisfied  the  travellers  with  journeying  by  water,  and  they 
'were  glad  to  foot  it  on  Land.'  But  the  lake  had  risen 


30  §  For  Brown  see  Smith,  Pittsfield,  I.,  pp.  181,  201,  204,   etc.;  Berkshire 
Hist,  and  Sci.  Coll.,  I.,  pp.  312,  316,  etc. ;  Hist.  Mag.,  Apr.,  1857,  p.  ic8 ;  Roof,  J. 
Brown. 

3 1  Wells,  S.  Adams,  II.,  p.  275. 

32  §  See  Brown's  oiiginal  letter  describing  his  journey:  Mass.  Arch.,  Vol. 
193,  p.  41.     Chittenden,  Ti.,  pp.  25,  94.    Hall,  Ti.,  p.  8. 


&%frr^ 


ENDORSEMENT   ON    SAMUEL   ADAMS'S   LETTER   OF    FEBRUARY  21,    1775 


95 


96    Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

high,  much  of  the  country  for  twenty  miles  on  either  side 
had  vanished  under  the  flood,  small  streams  had  become 
rivers,  the  ice  was  treacherous,  and  the  snow  often  proved 
a  quicksand.  The  hardships  of  the  march  were  'most 
inconceivable,'  wrote  the  envoy;  but  at  length,  after  two 
weeks  of  perils  and  sufferings,  passing  safely  the  new 
dangers  of  the  British  regulars  and  Indian  scouts,  he 
traversed  the  long  crystal  bridge  of  the  St.  Lawrence  and 
entered  the  low  gate  of  Montreal.  The  laid  train  of 
revolution  had  now  burned  its  way  to  Canada.33 

Montreal — often  called  Villemarie,  the  City  of  Mary — 
began  as  a  shrine  in  the  wilderness,  consecrated  to  the 
Holy   Virgin.     It   was   the   waking   reality   of  a   pious 
dream, — a  dove's  nest  for  the  spirit,  woven  out  of  ecstasies, 
visions,  and  prayers.     About  the  middle  of  May,   1642, 
when  flowers  were  filling  the   grass   with   perfume  and 
birds  filling  the  woods  with  music,   brave  Maisonneuve 
stepped   from  his   pinnace   to  found,  between  the  royal 
mountain  and  the  still  more  royal  St.  Lawrence,  a  new 
Garden  of  Eden,  already  built  in  imagination  and  already 
dedicated  in  the  temple  of  Our  Lady  at  Paris.     The  long 
day,  peaceful  and  splendid,  seemed  a  foretaste  of  triumph. 
With   pious    enthusiasm   the   altar  was   built,  and  with 
prayers   and   tears   of  joy   consecrated;    and,  when   the 
glorious  day  gave  place  to  a   night  equally  glorious,  it 
seemed  no  profanation  to  leave  the  Host  exposed  there, 
illumined  with  a  pale  and  mysterious  radiance  by  festoons 
of  the   easily  caught  fireflies.     From  this  beginning  the 
enterprise  went  on  consistently.     A  hospital  dedicated  to 
St.  Joseph,  and  a  school  which  opened,  like  Christianity 
itself,  in  a  stable,  each  presided  over  by  a  devoted  nun,— 
these  represented  the  original  business  of  Montreal.34 


33  §  Reports  about  Brown,  etc.:  Can.  Arch.,  Q,  n,  pp.  149,  161, 164,  165,  166, 
167;  Souvenir  de  Maisonneuve,  passim.    Verreau  (Sanguinet),  Invasion,  p.  21. 

34  §  Dawson,  N.  Am.,  p.  308  ;  Parkman,  Jesuits,  pp.  201,  207,  209. 


Life  in  Montreal  97 

But  interests  of  another  kind  soon  gathered  there.  To 
many  of  the  settlers,  beaver  skins  were  more  precious  than 
souls.  Swift  rapids  in  the  St.  Lawrence  marked  the  spot 
as  the  head  of  navigation  and  a  great  seat  of  commerce 
with  the  west.  Hither  came  each  summer  a  host  of 
savages,  pitching  their  tents  on  the  river  bank  a  little  way 
from  the  town,  smoking  their  pipes  of  peace  round  the 
governor's  chair  at  the  grand  council  on  the  Common, 
and  then  planting  their  trading-booths  along  the  palisades 
that  walled  in  the  town.  To  and  fro  they  swarmed, 
decked  out  with  every  savage  contrivance  that  could 
adorn  the  body  without  clothing  it,  brandishing  their 
clubs,  firing  their  guns,  trading,  cursing,  guzzling,  and  at 
last  concluding — too  often — in  a  mad  pandemonium  of 
mingled  savagery  and  intoxication.36 

Between  these  opposite  poles  of  deviltry  and  Romanism, 
clinging  to  both,  had  grown  up  the  Montreal  that  con 
fronted  Brown.  Surprised  and  shocked,  the  ambassador 
of  Puritan  Massachusetts  assuredly  was;  but  he  could  not 
afford  to  close  his  eyes,  for  everything  told  more  or  less  of 
the  character  of  this  people  and  the  chances  of  winning 
their  support. 

Here  stood  a  city  of  six  or  seven  hundred  dwellings 
where  not  a  single  Protestant  meeting-house  pointed 
heavenward  its  modest  pile  of  diminishing  boxes.  Just 
before  leaving  Boston,  he  had  probably  shivered  inwardly, 
like  everybody  else  who  read  the  papers,  over  an  account 
of  a  papistical  bell-christening  at  Quebec;  but  here  the 
papistical  bells  were  ringing,  the  lamps  alight,  the  clouds 
of  incense  rising,  the  priests  bowing  and  kneeling.  Here 
Montcalm,  the  soldier-scholar  and  soldier-poet,  had  given 
many  a  dinner-party  and  many  a  supper;  and  had  he  not 
done  his  utmost  against  the  Colonials?  Here  the  graceful 


Parkman,  Old  Regime,  p.  354.     Marr,  Remarks:  Can.  Arch.,  M,  384,  p.  85. 

VOL.   I. 7. 


98    Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

and  knightly  L/evis  had  waved  his  sword;  and  was  not  he 
a  French  gallant  as  well  as  a  French  enemy?  And  what 
else  could  be  expected  of  priests,  Frenchmen,  and  gallants 
than  what  Brown  saw  and  heard :  everybody  playing  at 
'wisk'  and  other  games  of  cards,  and  many  ruining  chem- 
selves;  even  the  finest  ladies  eager  to  show  their  know 
ledge  of  the  bon  tony  as  they  called  this  gambling;  billiards, 
another  betting  game,  high  in  fashion;  French  minuets 
and  English  contradances  going  on  when  cards  were  not, — 
in  short,  a  provincial  miniature  of  gay  and  wicked  Paris.33 

Yet  the  scandalized  visitor  could  not  gainsay  the  sin 
cerity  of  home  life  among  the  French,  nor  the  part  it  must 
play  in  the  development  and  the  policy  of  Canada. 

At  first,  no  doubt,  he  misunderstood  the  freedom  of  the 
girls,  especially  if  he  saw  them  lounging  at  home  in 
elaborate  curls,  dirty  jackets,  and  coarse  petticoats  not  half 
long  enough,  or  beheld  them  paying  visits  later  in  the  day, 
dressed  out  in  gay  finery  and  laughing  rather  maliciously 
at  any  one  who  seemed  astern  of  their  belated  French 
styles.  Perhaps  he  was  astonished,  after  an  introduction 
to  one  of  these  lively  maids,  to  be  asked  at  once,  'Are  you 
married?'  'Are  the  ladies  of  Montreal  handsomer  than 
your  Boston  ladies?'  'Would  you  like  to  take  some  one 
home  with  you?'  But  he  found  that  in  reality  the  girls 
had  honest  hearts  and  sensible  minds.  With  all  their  love 
of  dress,  no  woman,  unless  of  gentle  birth,  put  on  her  head 
the  pile  of  ribbons  called  the  fontange:  an  effective  band 
of  linen  or  muslin  round  the  hair  satisfying  the  ambition 
of  all  plebeians.  They  looked  well  after  kitchen  and  cellar, 
singing  pretty  little  songs  full  of  'coeur'  and  'amour/ 
while  they  did  it.  With  no  squeams  or  airs,  they  carried 
home  what  they  bought  at  the  market.  Though  not 

36  Liv.,  Journal,  Nov.  17:  Penna.  Mag.,  Apr.,  1898,  p.  9.  Hadden,  Journal, 
p.  12.  The  first  Prot.  chapel  in  Canada  was  erected  in  1786  (Can.  Antiquarian 
V.,  p.  165);  see  also  Can.  Arch.,  Q,  49,  p.  343.  Essex  Gazette,  Jan.  10,  1775. 
lyaterriere,  M£m.,  p.  61.  Parkman,  Montcalm,  passim. 


Politics  in  Montreal  gg 

remarkably  handsome,  perhaps,  they  had  a  charm  and 
quickness  that  placed  them  above  the  other  sex;  yet  they 
made  no  attempt  to  domineer  over  their  consorts.  And 
it  seemed  little  wonder  that  the  men,  whether  married  or 
only  expecting  to  be,  felt  gay,  merry,  and  happy,  and  were 
ready  to  doff  their  hats  cheerily  and  with  grace,  not  only 
to  one  another,  but  even  to  a  stranger  and  alien  like 
Brown.37 

These  matters,  however,  though  by  no  means  without 
importance,    occupied   the   second    place    in    his    mind. 
Thomas   Walker   and   his   committee  had  the  first,  and 
Brown  not  only  presented  his  letters  but  eagerly  questioned 
his  new  friends.     There  was  much  to  cheer  him.     The 
ground  proved  mellower  than  he  had  expected.  In  response 
to  the  contribution  from  Montreal,  Joseph  Warren  had 
sent  an  answer  that  sounded  across  the  mountains  like  a 
bugle-call  at  sunrise.     In  acknowledgment  of  the  gift  from 
Quebec,  the  Boston  Committee  of  Donations  had  replied: 
'Whilst  we  stand  Compact  like  a  Band  of  Brothers  no 
proud  Invaders  will  be  able  to  subdue  Us ';  and,  as  people 
who  have  done  one  a  favor  are  always  disposed  to  be  one's 
friends,    these    letters   had   received,    of  course,   a   wide 
and   favorable   hearing.     All  winter,  in  fact,  so  Gamble 
declared,  the  Colonials  had  certainly  been  corresponding, 
not  only  with  the  British,  but  with  the  French  of  Canada. 
And,  above  and  beyond  all  other  influences  from  below,  the 
Continental  Congress  itself  had   formally   addressed   its 
neighbors  on  the  north.38 

On   October    the   twenty-sixth,   1774,  a   letter   to   the 
people  of  Quebec,  drawn  by  Dickinson,39   had    received 

3  7  §  Kaltn,  Travels,  III.,  pp.  56,  57,  80,  8r,  281-283.     Anburey,  Travels  I    p 
71.      Marr,  Remarks:  Can.  Arch.,  M,  384,  p.  85.     Laterriere,  M/m.,  p    52 

r      38A§^'^  J°urn''  Oct^ 6<  1774-     Replies:    Frothingham,  Warren,  p.  442  • 
Can    Arch    Q,  n,  p.  ,05.     Gamble  to  Sheriff,  July  20.  1775  :  Can.  Arch.,  B  20   p 
fi   -l?uln-  C°nff'>  Pct-  24.  2(5-     This  action  of  Congress  preceded  the  action  of 
the  Boston  Committee  ;  but  the  latter,  instead  of  being  a  mere  address  aimed 
at  and  secured  the  establishment  of  a  close  personal  connection  with  Canada. 
39  stille",  Dickinson,  p.  i44.     See  REMARK  II. 


The  Address  of  Congress  101 

the  approval  of  that  body.  In  warm  but  reason 
able  words,  Congress  explained  the  rights  of  the 
Canadians  as  British  subjects  and  then  described  the 
position  assigned  them  by  the  Quebec  Act.  'Your  Judges 
and  your  Legislative  Council^  as  it  is  called,  are  dependant 
on  your  Governor,'  said  Congress;  'and  he  is  dependant 
on  the  servant  of  the  Crown,  in  Great-Britain.  The 
legislative,  executive  and  judging  powers  are  all  moved  by 
the  nods  of  a  Minister.  Privileges  and  immunities  last 
no  longer  than  his  smiles.  When  he  frowns,  their  feeble 
forms  dissolve.  .  .  .  We  defy  you,  casting  your  view  upon 
every  side,  to  discover  a  single  circumstance,  promising 
from  any  quarter  the  faintest  hope  of  liberty  to  you  or  your 
posterity,  but  from  an  entire  adoption  into  the  union  of 
these  Colonies.' 

4  The  immortal  Montesquieu'  was  summoned  from  the 
past,  and  made  to  cast  the  light  of  his  profound  maxims 
upon  this  new  case;  and  then  Congress  went  on:  'Would 
not  this  be  the  purport  of  his  address  ?  "Seize  the  oppor 
tunity  presented  to  you  by  Providence  itself.  You  have 
been  conquered  into  liberty,  if  you  act  as  you  ought.  This 
work  is  not  of  man.  .  .  .  You  are  a  small  people,  com 
pared  to  those  who  with  open  arms  invite  you  into  a 
fellowship.  A  moment's  reflection  should  convince  you 
which  will  be  most  for  your  interest  and  happiness,  to 
have  all  the  rest  of  North  America  your  unalterable 
friends,  or  your  inveterate  enemies. "... 

'We  are  too  well  acquainted  with  the  liberality  of  senti 
ment  distinguishing  your  nation,  toimagine,  that  difference 
of  religion  will  prejudice  you  against  a  hearty  amity  with  us. 
You  know,  that  the  transcendant  nature  of  freedom 
elevates  those,  who  unite  in  her  cause,  above  all  such  low- 
minded  infirmities.  ...  It  has  been,  with  universal 
pleasure  and  an  unanimous  vote,  resolved,  That  we  should 
consider  the  violation  of  your  rights,  by  the  act  for  alter- 


IO2  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

ing  the  government  of  your  province,  as  a  violation  of  our 
own,  and  that  you  should  be  invited  to  accede  to  our 
confederation,  which  has  no  other  objects  than  the  perfect 
security  of  the  natural  and  civil  rights  of  all  the  constituent 
members,  according  to  their  respective  circumstances,  and 
the  preservation  of  a  happy  and  lasting  connection  with 
Great-Britain,  on  the  salutary  and  constitutional  princi 
ples  hereinbefore  mentioned.' 

No  little  importance  was  attached  by  Congress  to  this 
address.  The  delegates  of  Pennsylvania  received  the 
charge  of  translating,  printing,  publishing,  and  dispersing 
it,  and  those  of  New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts,  and  New 
York  were  to  aid  in  its  distribution.  November  the 
sixteenth,  Edward  Biddle  despatched  three  hundred  copies 
to  Boston.  '  The  letter  to  Quebec  shall  be  faithfully  and 
speedily  forwarded,'  replied  John  Adams.  Gushing  him 
self,  a  member  of  the  committee  that  reported  it,  sent  a 
package  to  Thomas  Walker,  formerly  his  particular  friend; 
and  Walker  made  no  concealment  of  receiving  it.  Besides, 
the  Address  had  already  appeared  in  every  American 
paper — so  Carleton  thought — except  the  Quebec  Gazette, 
and  doubtless  had  become  known  in  that  way  at  the 
north.40 

Earlier  still,  perhaps,  a  copy  in  English  had  made  its 
appearance  in  Montreal.  News  of  it  spread  quickly 
through  the  town,  and  all  the  British  '  nocked  to  the 
Coffee  House  '  to  hear  it.  A  French  translation  was 
promptly  evolved  at  Quebec,  and  written  copies  passed 
from  one  to  another  among  the  bourgeois  ;  and  then,  as 
the  Governor,  'a  man  of  sower  morose  Temper' — so 
Brown's  Montreal  friends  described  him — very  naturally 
forbade  printing  it,  the  translation  was  despatched  south 
to  be  struck  off.  Later  it  was  said  that  a  copy  had  been 

40  §  journ.  Cong.,  Oct.  26.  J.  Adams,  Works,  IX.,  p.  348.  Walker :  letter 
from  Quebec,  Oct.  25,  1775  (4  Force,  III.,  1185).  Carleton  to  Dartmouth,  Mar.  13, 
1775  :  Can.  Arch.,  Q,  it,  p.  129. 


Difficulties  103 

left  at  every  house  in  the  region  below  Montreal;  official 
reports  contained  glimpses  of  it  lying  on  tables  and 
passing  here  and  there  from  hand  to  hand;  and,  according 
to  a  French  Tory,  British  merchants  went  about  the  coun 
try  reading  it  aloud  to  the  people,  while  pretending  to  buy 
wheat.  Little  effect  it  would  have,  thought  Carleton;  or, 
at  least,  he  expressed  himself  in  this  hopeful  style  to  Lord 
Dartmouth.  But,  in  a  clearer  view  of  the  situation,  such 
an  opinion  would  have  seemed  hardly  probable ;  and 
Badeaux,  almost  a  hundred  miles  from  either  Quebec  or 
Montreal,  noted  in  his  Journal  that  the  Canadians  were 
influenced  not  a  little  by  the  Address.41 

Several  days  were  spent  in  personal  talks,  and  then  all 
the  British— English,  Scotch,  Irish,  and  ex-Colonials — 
met  at  the  Coffee  House  to  hear  Adams's  ambassador  and 
discuss  the  situation.  Among  them  Brown  made  a  figure 
not  unworthy  of  his  mission.  His  noble  personal  appear 
ance,  genial  air,  and  chivalric  manner,  the  perils  and 
hardships  of  his  journey,  his  message  and  those  who  sent 
it, — patriots  already  famous,  a  city  suffering  in  the  cause 
of  freedom,  and  a  Colony  organizing  resistance, — all  these 
together  gave  him  the  true  eloquence  of  the  man,  the  sub 
ject,  and  the  occasion.  His  letter  read,  he  and  Walker 
addressed  the  gathering  in  no  uncertain  language,  and  it 
was  then  proposed  that  delegates  be  sent  from  Canada  to 
Philadelphia  the  coming  May,  as  the  Boston  letter  and 
the  Address  of  Congress  proposed.42 

But  here  appeared  obstacles  as  great  as  those  which  had 
vetoed  the  scheme  of  an  Assembly.  Doubtless  many 
hesitated  on  general  principles  to  take  an  open  stand  with 

41  §  At  Montreal:   Carleton,  Nov.  u,  1774  (Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Colon.  Corres., 
Quebec,   n,  p.  17).     Canadian  version  :  Carleton  to  Dartmouth,  Mar.  i^,  1775 
(Can.  Arch.,  Q,   IT,  p.    129);  Montreal  letter  in  Essex  Gazette,  Mar.  14"  1775. 
Brown  to  S.  Adams,  Mar.  29,   1775  :  Mass.  Arch.,  Vol.   193,  p.  4i.     Circulation  : 
Winsor,  Narr.  and  Crit.   Hist.,   VI.,  p.   215  ;  spy  (Can.  Arch.,   Q,   n,   p.   I4g)- 
Verreau  (Sanguinet)  Invasion,  p.  20.     Carleton's  hope  :  Can.  Arch.,  Q,  n,  p   120 
Verreau  (Badeaux),  Invasion,  p.  164. 

42  §  Spies  :  Can.  Arch.,  Q,  n,  pp.  149,  165,  166. 


IO4    Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

the  Colonies  at  this  time,  especially  as  the  Quebec  Act 
might,  they  thqught,  be  repealed  or  amended.  Interests 
as  well  as  opinions  divided  them,  and  fears  paralyzed  many 
good  wishes.  All  realized  that  their  heads  were  in  the 
lion's  mouth,  and  that,  as  Walker  said,  they  had  not  even 
'the  common  Right  of  the  miserable,  to  complain'  'We 
deeply  feel  the  Sorrows  &  Afflictions,  of  our  suffering 
Brethren,'  so  they  decided  to  answer  the  Boston  Commit 
tee;  'but  alas  !  we  are  more  the  Objects  of  Pity  &  Com 
passion  than  yourselves.'  4a 

Besides,  they  intimated,  the  northern  country  generally 
was  not  ripe  for  so  decisive  a  step  toward  the  Colonies. 
'  We  cannot  join  them  in  the  insuing  general  Congress, 
which  were  we  to  attempt,  the  Canadians,'  even  though 
already  displeased  with  the  Quebec  Act,  'would  join 
the  Government  to  Frustrate.'  Further,  Congress  had 
adopted  an  agreement  not  to  import  from  Great  Britain, 
with  a  definite  step  toward  cutting  off  exportations  like 
wise;  and,  should  the  merchants  act  with  the  Colonies 
under  these  limitations,  they  would  be  ruined;  since,  as 
Brown  explained,  'The  French  would  immediately  monop 
olize  the  Indian  Trade.'  Finally  the  British-Canadians, 
begging  'to  be  informed  in  what  Manner  we  can  be 
serviceable  to  your  Cause,  without  bringing  down  ruin 
upon  our  own  heads,'  inquired  whether  Congress  would 
receive  delegates  from  the  north  without  insisting  upon 
the  acceptance  of  its  commercial  policy.  Till  that  could 
be  known,  the  plan  of  sending  them  had  perforce  to  be 
deferred.44 

This  was  disappointing;  yet  the  results  of  the  mission 
could  not  be  reckoned  small.  Some  of  them  did  not  make 


43  To  Boston  Com.  Corres.,  Apr.  8,  1775  :  Mass.  Arch.,  Vol.  193,  p  83.  (The 
letter  though  signed  by  Walker,  Welles,  Price,  and  Haywood  is  evidently  in 
Walker's  hand.) 

4  4  §  See  Note  43.  Mass.  Gazette.  Feb.  27,  1775  (letter  from  Quebec).  Journ. 
Cong.,  Oct.  20,  1774.  Brown  to  S.  Adams:  Note  41. 


Results  of  Brown's  Mission  105 

their  appearance  until  later,  but  others  could  be  figured 
up  at  once.  Carleton  admitted  that  a  number  of  men 
promised  the  Colonials  'to  render  them  all  the  Services 
in  their  Power.'  Between  this  ganglion  and  the  head  in 
Boston  a  secure  nerve  of  correspondence  now  ran  by  way 
of  the  New  Hampshire  Grants;  and,  as  Brown  met  a 
number  of  the  Quebec  Committee  at  Montreal,  that  centre 
also  was  included  in  the  line.  With  such  a  connection 
and  such  germs  of  revolt  in  Canada,  who  could  predict 
the  consequences?  45 

Something  was  done  also  to  conjure  away  the  danger 
of  invasion  from  that  quarter.  Sentries  took  post,  ready 
to  give  seasonable  notice  in  case  of  a  movement;  and 
measures  were  taken  to  impede  all  hostile  designs.  The 
Address  of  Congress  had  suggested  that,  if  Canada  would 
not  receive  the  Colonials  as  friends,  she  might  have  to 
accept  them  as  enemies.  Rather  harsh  the  doctrine 
seemed,  no  doubt;  but  the  times  were  strenuous.  War 
ren,  girding  himself  to  be  sacrificed  on  the  smoking  altar 
of  Bunker  Hill,  had  said  to  Montreal  in  his  letter  of  'the 
warmest  gratitude':  'To  war  with  brethren  must  be 
shocking  to  every  brave,  every  humane  mind;  but,  if 
brethren  and  fellow  subjects  will  suffer  themselves  to  be 
instruments  in  the  hands  of  tyrants  to  stab  our  Constitu 
tion,  every  tender  idea  must  be  forgot.'  Already,  as 
Brown  discovered,  the  friends  of  the  Colonies  had 
thwarted  efforts  to  enlist  the  people  on  the  side  of  the 
government  by  arguments  'chiefly  in  Terrorem';  and 
now,  to  offset  the  Canadians'  dread  of  those  red  lines 
which  had  swept  the  Plains  of  Abraham  so  clean,  it 
was  given  out  that,  should  they  dare  take  up  arms 
against  the  Bostonians,  thirty  thousand  men  would 

n,i^K5  §  Carleton  to  Dartmouth,  May  15,  1775  :  Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Colon.  Corres 
Quebec,  u,  p.  245.    Brown  to  S.  Adams  :  Note  41. 


io6    Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

march    into    their    province   and   lay   waste   the   whole 
country.46 

And  upon  this,  foresight — which  had  certainly  done 
the  very  best  that  it  knew— yielded  the  stage  for  a  while 
to  a  far  mightier  power,  the  power  of  the  unpredictable. 


46  §  Brown  to  S.  Adams  :  Note  41.     Frothingham.  Warren,  p.  442.     Spies' 
reports  to  Carleton  :  Can.  Arch.,  Q.  n,  pp.  165,  167. 


IV 
TICONDEROGA 

WHEN  the  atmosphere  is  thick  with  vapor  and  elec 
tricity,  an  imperceptible  current  of  the  upper  air 
may  rouse  its  latent  forces  to  life  in  many  quarters  at  once. 
Vapor  condenses  into  clouds;  clouds  burst  into  rain;  and 
each  of  half  a  dozen  valleys  has  its  particular  storm, 
thundering  and  lightening  down  between  the  hills  and 
adding  a  torrent  of  its  own  to  the  general  flood.  In 
most  cases,  great  popular  movements  have  been  illustra 
tions  of  this  process,  and  our  American  Revolution 
followed  the  rule. 

'I  cannot  call  them  rebels  at  present;  but,  by  the  bless 
ing  of  God  on  my  Armies  and  Fleets,  they  will  deserve 
that  appellation  very  soon,' — this  was  the  language  which 
Regulus  put  into  the  mouth  of  George  III.  ;  and  in  truth 
he  had  appeared  to  speak  it.  The  happy  time  was  now 
come;  and,  in  February,  1775,  the  Address  to  the  Throne 
declared,  almost  with  unction,  that  a  state  of  actual  rebel 
lion  existed  in  Massachusetts.  Even  had  Gage,  the 
British  commander  there,  been  a  statesman,  he  would 
have  found  it  hard  to  stop  the  shadow  on  the  dial  then; 
but  he  proved  lacking  enough  in  wisdom.  'You  know  it 
was  said,'  wrote  Franklin  to  Priestley,  'that  he  car 
ried  the  sword  in  one  hand  and  the  olive  branch  in  the 
other  ;  and  it  seems  he  chose  to  give  them  a  taste  of 
the  sword  first.'  At  Lexington  the  red  cup  was  offered 
the  patriots  and  with  a  steady  hand  accepted;  and  from 
that  crimson-spotted  Green  the  tocsin  sent  its  terrible  news 

107 


io8  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

abroad.  At  Portsmouth,  'To  arms,  to  arms!  was  breathed 
forth  with  sympathetick  groans,'  reported  Alexander 
Scammell.  'O  my  dear  New  England!  '  cnzd.  Johannes- 
in-Eremo  at  Salem  ;  'O  my  dear  New  England,  hear  thou 
the  alarm  of  war !  The  call  of  heaven  is  to  arms  !  to 
arms  !  The  sword  of  Britain  is  drawn  against  us  !'  But 
no  exhortation  was  needed.  The  barest  facts  rang  like  a 
clarion,  and  flew  like  the  wind.1 

__ 

- 


LEXINGTON    GREEN 

One  particular  account  of  the  conflict  recorded  its 
flight.  New  Haven  received  it  on  Monday  morning, 
April  the  twenty-fourth  at  half-past  nine;  Stamford  at  ten 
o'clock  that  evening;  Greenwich  at  three  o'clock  the  next 
morning,  and  New  York  at  two  in  the  afternoon.  'A 


i  §  Regulus  :  4  Force,  II.,  316.     Address:  4  Force,  I.,  1542.  1547.     Franklin, 
Works  (Sparks),  VIII.,  p.  153.    Scammell :  4  Force,  II.,  501.    Johannes  ib.,  369. 


The  Lexington  Alarm  109 

true  copy,'  attested  Jonathan  Hampton  early  that  even 
ing,  as  he  transcribed  the  letter  at  Elizabeth  town,  New 
Jersey.     At   midnight   the  New    Brunswick    Committee 
signed  the  receipt,  and  long  before  daybreak  the  men  of 
Princeton  were  doing  the   like.     At   noon   the  message 
reached   Philadelphia,   and    'at  the  same   time'    set   out 
again.     'Chester,  4  o'clock,  Wednesday,  P.M.,  received  & 
forwarded,'    noted     the     Committee.     'Baltimore,    April 
27,  i775»  received,  10  o'clock  P.M.,   John    Boyd,    Clerk.' 
At    ten    the    next  morning,  the  express  left  Annapolis; 
and,  as  the   clocks  were  on  the  stroke  of  six,  his  tired 
steed,    spattered    with    Potomac  mud,  clinked   over   the 
cobblestones   of  Alexandria.     Fredericksburg  and  King 
William  led  on  to  Williamsburg.      Not  a  'moment'   was 
lost  there,  and  the  letter  sped  away  to  Newbern  in  North 
Carolina.     May   the    eighth,    at   four  in    the  afternoon, 
Cornelius  Harnett  despatched  the  news  to  Richard  Quince 
of  Brunswick,  adding,    'For  God's  sake  send  the  man  on 
without  the  least   delay,    and   write    to    Mr.   Marion   to 
forward  it  by  night  and  by  day!'     'For  the  good  of  our 
Country  and  the  welfare  of  our  lives  and  liberties,  and 
fortunes!'  cried  Marion  at  the  boundary.      At  half- past 
six  in    the    evening,    May    tenth,    the  express    entered 
Georgetown,  and  on  the  instant    Paul    Trapier    set    his 
message  hurrying  along  to  Charleston.2 

Wherever  the  courier's  mount  had  struck  hoof  all  these 
days  and  nights,  the  call  to  arms  rang  out,  and  soldiers 
leaped  into  ranks  behind  him.  Seizing  musket  and 
powder-horn,  many  of  them  hastened  to  Cambridge;  and 
almost  before  the  ragged  echoes  of  Lexington  ceased  peal 
ing,  the  'Audacious  Briton  '  found  himself  imprisoned  in 
Boston.  Yet  the  patriots  were  not  satisfied.  Muskets 
could  injure  him  little,  and  even  the  warmest  enthusiasm 

2  4  Force,  II.,  365. 


no  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

could  not  be  cast  into  ordnance.     What  should  be  done 
for  cannon? 

Far  from  all  this,  quite  beyond  the  western  horizon, 
walled  in  with  mountains  and  buried  in  the  forest,  a 
beautiful  sheet  of  water,  adorned  with  lovely  bays  and 
bold  headlands,  was  reflecting  sun  and  stars  in  a  silence 
hardly  broken  save  by  the  bird,  the  catamount,  and  the 
storm . 

The  scene  had  not  always  been  so  tranquil.  It  was  here 
that  Samuel  de  Champlain  had  passed  up  in  his  canoe 
with  a  party  of  Indians  to  fight  the  Iroquois.  It  was  here 
that  Dieskau,  with  a  greater  fleet  and  more  of  the  savages, 
had  swept  on  to  set  his  ambush  for  the  Provincials.  It 
was  here  that  Montcalm  had  poised  himself  an  instant  for 
his  dash  at  Fort  William  Henry. 

In  1755,  a  fort  known  as  Carillon  appeared  on  a  high, 
bold  promontory  near  the  southern  end  of  the  lake  ;  and, 
against  the  green-black  of  the  mountains,  waved  the 
snowy  flag  of  France.  At  the  outworks  of  this  fort,  not 
long  after,  a  small  man  with  sparkling  eyes  might  have 
been  seen  darting  here  and  there  amidst  soldiers  in  white, 
commanding  and  inspiring  them.  It  was  Montcalm 
once  more  ;  and,  though  British  regulars  and  Colonial 
militia  charged  and  charged  again  with  desperate  valor, 
the  lilies  were  still  blooming  on  the  broad  white  banner  at 
the  end  of  the  fight.  A  great  cross  rose  then  on  the 
point.  'What  is  the  leader  ;  what  the  soldier  ;  what  the 
fortress?  Behold  the  sign!  Behold  the  victor!  Here 
God,  here  God  Himself  is  triumphant!'  wrote  Montcalm 
in  Latin  for  the  inscription.  And  France  held  the  pass.3 

But  the  tide  changed.  Near  midnight,  July  the  twenty- 
third,  1759,  an  immense  glare  suddenly  lighted  up  the 
headland,  the  waters,  and  the  sky;  and  a  tremendous  roar 


3  §  Parkman,  Montcalm,  passim.    Inscription  :  ib.,  II.,  p.  112, 


Ticonderoga  1 1  r 

shook  the  hills.  The  French  troops  had  gone,  leaving  a 
slow  match  in  the  powder;  one  bastion  had  blown  up; 
and  the  barracks  had  taken  fire.  For  a  time  the  white 
flag  waved  on  amid  the  conflagration,  as  it  had  waved  in 
the  smoke  of  battle.  But  soon  it  fell;  the  standard  of 
Great  Britain  superseded  Mon tcalm's  trophy;  and  Carillon 
became  Ticonderoga.  Yet  the  place  continued  to  be  a 
fort;  and  both  there  and  at  Crown  Point,  some  fifteen 
miles  to  the  north,  lay  quantities  of  good  ordnance  in  the 
spring  of  1775. 4 

But  the  British  themselves  had  a  use  for  those  guns. 
1  It  is  not  only  expedient,  but  indispensably  necessary,' 
to  keep  the  lake  posts  in  repair,  General  Carleton  had 
declared  as  early  as  1767;  and  he  pointed  out  the  reasons 
with  force  and  precision.  The  Earl  of  Dartmouth  saw 
that  something  must  be  done;  and  at  his  request  General 
Haldimand,  after  looking  well  into  the  matter,  gave  his 
opinion  in  March,  1774.  Two  months  later,  John  Mon- 
tresor,  the  commanding  engineer  at  New  York,  received 
orders  to  go  to  Lake  Champlain  'with  all  possible  ex 
pedition'  and  make  plans  for  either  repairing  one  of  the 
posts  or  building  a  new  fortification.  Two  weeks  more, 
and  Haldimand  said  he  was  going  to  propose  to  General 
Gage  that  a  couple  of  regiments  be  stationed  at  Crown 
Point  'under  the  pretence  of  rebuilding  that  Fort,  which 
from  its  situation,'  he  explained,  'not  only  secures  the 
communication  with  Canada,  but  also  opens  an  easy  access 
to  the  back  Settlements  of  the  Northern  Colonies  and  may 
keep  them  in  awe,  shou'd  any  of  them  be  rash  enough  to 
incline  to  acts  of  open  force  and  violence' ;  and  within  a 
few  days  a  note  in  French  conveyed  this  hint  to  Boston.5 

4  Evacuation;  Parkman,  Montcalm,  II.,  239. 

5  §  Carleton  to  Gage,  Feb.  15,  1767:  Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Colon.  Corres.,  Quebec, 
ii,  p.  479.    Haldimand  to  Dartmouth,  Mar.  2,  1774:  Can.  Arch.,  B,  35,  p.  87. 
Montresor:  Can.  Arch.,  B,  5,  p.  249  ;  35,  p.  123  ;  33,  p.  264.     Haldimand  to  Dart 
mouth,  May  15,  1774:  Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Am.  and  W.  Ind.,  Vol.  129,  p.  287.    Id.  to 
Gage,  May  20,  1774:  Can.  Arch.,  B,  5,  p.  249. 


112 


The  Green  Mountain  Boys  113 

November  the  second,  Lord  Dartmouth  ordered  Gage 
to  have  both  of  the  forts  'put  into  a  proper  state  of 
Defence.'  The  letter  did  not  reach  its  destination  until 
a  day  after  Christmas,  and  apparently  Gage  made  no  move 
at  that  time;  but,  very  soon  after  the  fight  at  Lexington, 
he  ordered  Carleton  to  place  the  yth  Regiment,  with  some 
companies  of  Canadians  and  Indians,  at  Crown  Point; 
while,  as  early  as  March,  the  commander  of  Ticonderoga 
had  received  a  warning  to  prepare  for  trouble  in  the  shape 
of  'disorderly  People  in  Arms  coming  to  the  Fort  and 
makeing  Knquirys  of  its  situation,  and  [the]  strength  of 
the  Garrison.'  Besides,  a  certain  Major  Skene  was  just 
about  sailing  from  England  to  rebuild  the  works,  and  he 
expected  to  reach  the  ground  with  a  thousand  men  by 
the  first  of  May.  Evidently  the  precious  cannon  were  to 
be  under  safe  British  protection  very  soon.6 

But  Skene  was  delayed,  and  a  force  lay  nearer  Ticon 
deroga  than  Carleton' s.  Vermont  did  not  exist  in  1774 
even  as  a  Colony,  yet  people  lived  already  on  the  fair 
slopes  of  the  Green  Mountains.  'New  Hampshire 
Grants'  was  the  usual  name  of  the  region;  but  New 
Hampshire  had  relinquished  whatever  title  she  had  to  it, 
while  New  York  still  asserted  claims  and  seemed  very 
much  in  earnest  about  making  them  good.  To  this, 
most  of  the  residents  objected  with  still  greater  zeal,  for 
the  land  grants  of  New  York  literally  cut  the  ground 
from  under  their  feet.  The  legal  case,  argued  at  Albany, 
went  against  the  settlers ;  but  they  could  see  no  justice 
in  the  verdict.  On  leaving  the  courtroom,  their  leader, 
Ethan  Allen,  remarked,  'The  gods  of  the  valleys  are  not 
the  gods  of  the  hills';  and  his  people  proceeded  to  enforce 


6  §  Dartmouth :  Precis  of  Oper.  Gage  (the  letter  went  by  sea,  and  reached 
Carleton  on  May  19,  1775):  Carleton  to  Dartmouth,  June  7,  1775  (Pub.  Rec.  Off., 
Colon.  Corres.,  Quebec,  n, 
(Pub.  - 
Assembly, 


eton  on  iviay  19,  1775):  v_arieton  to  .uarunoutn,  june  7,  1775  (,fuD.  Kec.  un., 
>n.  Corres.,  Quebec,  n,  p.  283).  At  Ti. :  Gage  to  Dartmouth,  May  17,  1775 
).  Rec.  Off.,  Am.  and  W.  Ind.,  Vol.  130,  p.  327).  Skene:  Phelps  to  Conn. 
:mbly,  May  16,  1775  (Conn.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  I.,  p.  174). 


VOL.  I. — I 


ii4  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

their  rights,  as  they  understood  them,  with  both  humor 
arid  energy, — the  humor  appreciated  mainly  on  one  side 
of  the  controversy,  but  the  energy  felt  quite  as  much 
on  the  other.  The  hamlet  of  Bennington  Centre  became 
their  headquarters;  and  there  sate  the  Grand  Committee, 
which  maintained  a  sort  of  government.  The  capitol  was 
a  rambling  two-story  tavern,  and,  for  an  official  standard, 
there  was  a  stuffed  catamount  in  front  of  it,  grinning 
defiance  toward  New  York  from  the  top  of  a  sign- post 
some  twenty-five  feet  high.7 

Unpretentious  enough  the  seat  of  government,  but 
thence  went  orders  that  did  not  return  to  it  void.  One 
Dr.  Adams,  tied  in  an  arm-chair,  was  hung  up  under 
the  ensign  for  two  hours  to  meditate  on  the  controversy, 
and  came  back  to  the  earth  with  changed  convictions. 
New  York  surveyors  had  to  give  up  their  compass  and 
chain.  New  York  sheriffs  failed  to  get  the  land,  but 
received  some  of  its  produce  in  the  shape  of  beech 
switches. 

One  morning  Allen,  appearing  at  the  door  of  a  York 
settler,  informed  him  that  the  timbers  of  his  dwelling  were 
to  be  offered  up  'as  a  burnt  sacrifice  to  the  gods  of  the 
woods';  and  soon  only  ashes  remained.  Colonel  Reid, 
who  lived  on  a  large  estate  where  comely  Vergennes  now 
stands,  received  a  visit  from  about  one  hundred  men  in 
August,  1773.  His  houses  vanished  in  smoke ;  his  mill 
returned  to  its  elements  ;  the  millstones  were  smashed  and 
pitched  down  the  falls.  In  March,  1775,  the  'Benington 
Mob,'  as  Governor  Tryon  called  them,  seized  Benjamin 
Hough,  one  of  His  Majesty's  Justices  of  the  Peace,  put 
him  through  a  form  of  trial  for  daring  to  act  under  the 
authority  to  New  York,  counted  him  out  twro  hundred 


^  For  this  and  the  two  following  paragraphs :  Merrill,  Historic  B  ennington 
Walton,  Records  of  Council  of  Safety;  Isham,  E.  Allen  ;  Benton,  Vermont 
Settlers  ;  Swift,  Addison  County:  all  passim  ;  4  Force,  I.,  1323  ;  II.,  215-218. 


The  Green  Mountain  Boys  115 

good  stripes  on  his  bare  back,  and  ordered  him  out  of  the 
country. 

These  men  bore  arms, — a  firelock  with  'Ball  or  Buck- 
Shot  answerable,'  and  'a  good  tomahawk,'  as  the  rules 
provided.  Many  were  old  rangers,  veterans  of  Putnam, 
Stark,  and  Rogers  ;  all  were  'as  brave  as  Hercules  and  as 
good  marksmen  as  can  be  found  in  America,'  said  Esquire 
Gilleland,  who  knew  them;  and,  as  early  as  1771,  they 
organized  a  regiment  with  Allen  as  their  colonel.  When 
some  were  indicted,  the  rest  solemnly  voted  to  'stand  by 
and  defend'  them  at  the  hazard  of  life  and  property. 
After  Remember  Baker  was  wounded  and  arrested,  his 
friends  pursued  the  posse  and  rescued  him  by  force.  Re 
wards  were  offered  against  the  'Mob,'  and  its  leaders 
were  outlawed,  but  Allen,  Baker,  Peleg  Sunderland,  and 
others  published  a  simple  notice  which  had  far  greater 
effect:  'immediate  death'  would  be  the  fate  of  whoever 
tried  to  arrest  them;  or,  said  the  warning,  if  any  person 
should  succeed  in  carrying  off  one  of  these  individuals, 
'we  are  resolved  to  surround  such  person  or  persons, 
whether  at  his  or  their  own  house  or  houses,  or  anywhere 
that  we  can  find  him  or  them,  and  shoot  such  person  or 
persons  dead'  8 

Peleg  Sunderland  was  appointed  by  the  Grand  Com 
mittee  to  guide  John  Brown  on  his  journey  to  Montreal, 
and  later  Brown  wrote  his  principals  in  Boston  to  this 
effect:  'The  Fort  at  Tyconderogo  must  be  seised  as 
soon  as  possible  should  hostilities  be  committed  by  the 
King's  Troops.  The  People  on  N.  Hampshire  Grants  have 
ingaged  to  do  this  Business  and  in  my  opinion  they  are 
the  most  proper  Persons  for  this  Jobb.'  9 


s  §  Proceedings  of  Representatives,  Jan.  31,  i775.  Isham,  K.  Allen,  passim. 
Gilleland  to  Cont.  Cong..  May  29^1775:  4  Force,  II.,  731.  Swift,  Addison  County, 
passim.  Hall,  Vt.,  pp.  178,  183. 

9  §  Sunderland:  Journ.  of  Vt.  Assembly,  Mar.  7,  1787;  Trumbull,  Origin, 
p.  8  ;  Hall,  Ti.,  p.  8.  Brown  to  S.  Adams,  Mar.  29,  1775:  Mass.  Arch.,  Vol.  193, 


n6  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

Apparently  Sunderland  had  talked  over-confidently  to 
Brown,  for  his  chief  had  not  committed  himself  to  such  a 
project.  But  'the  first  systematical  and  bloody  attempt, 
at  Lexington,  to  enslave  America  thoroughly  electrified 
my  mind/  Allen  said  later;  and  soon  afterward  'the 
principal  officers  of  the  Green  Mountain  Boys,  and  other 
principal  inhabitants  were  convened  at  Bennington.'  It 
was  'resolved  to  take  an  active  part  with  the  Country, 
and  thereby  annihilate  the  old  quarrel  with  the  govern- 


CATAMOUNT  TAVERN 

ment  of  New  York  by  swallowing  it  up  in  the  general 
conflict  for  liberty.'  'But  the  enemy  having  the  com 
mand  of  lake  Champlain  and  the  garrisons  contiguous  to 
it,  was  ground  of  great  uneasiness  to  those  inhabitants 
who  had  extended  their  settlements  on  the  river  Otter 
Creek  and  Onion  River,  and  along  the  eastern  side  of  the 
lake  aforesaid;  who,  in  consequence  of  a  war,  would  be 
under  the  power  of  the  enemy.  It  was  therefore  pro 
jected  to  surprise  the  garrisons  of  Ticonderoga  and  Crown 
Point,  with  the  armed  vessel  on  the  lake;  .  .  .  but 
whether  such  a  measure  would  be  agreeable  to  Congress 


Benedict  Arnold  117 

or  not  they  could  not  for  certain  determine.'  There 
fore  the  plan  remained  only  a  'project';  and  meanwhile 
a  fleet  ship  was  hurrying  north  every  hour  with  Gage's 
order  to  Carleton.10 

Bustling  to  and  fro  in  the  quiet  village  of  New  Haven, 
Connecticut,  treading  hard  the  new  grass  of  the  College 
Green,  and  cutting  the  shadows  of  the  elms  with  a  quick 
stride,  lived  a  man  of  thirty-four  years,  who  seemed 
expressly  contrived  for  these  perilous  and  arduous  times. 
When  less  than  fifteen  years  old,  he  had  run  away  from 
home  and  enlisted  in  the  French  and  Indian  War;  and, 
after  his  mother  got  him  back,  he  went  a  second  time. 
Soon  weary  of  military  discipline,  however,  he  took  leave 
of  the  army  in  the  same  ready  style,  and  enlisted  in  a 
drug  store  at  New  Haven.  On  reaching  man's  estate, 
he  established  himself  there  as  an  apothecary  and  book 
seller.  Like  his  father  before  him,  however,  this  brisk 
young  man  owned  ships,  and  sometimes  he  .went  out  in 
charge  of  one.  More  than  once  he  sailed  to  the  West 
Indies,  and  he  bought  horses  for  that  trade  at  Quebec.11 

Socially  he  stood  high.  Every  generation  had  honored 
his  name — Benedict  Arnold— as  far  back  as  the  second 
President  of  Rhode  Island.  His  mother  had  given  him 
some  of  her  beauty  if  not  a  great  deal  of  her  gentleness. 
The  strength  of  her  affections,  likewise,  appeared  in  the 
son  more  distinctly  than  her  piety;  but  he  used  to  hold 

10  §  K.  Allen,  Narrative,  p.  17.  Id.,  Vindication  (Records  of  Gov  and 
Council,  I.,  p.  448). 

i '  (This  paragraph  and  the  next.)  The  sketch  of  Arnold  is  based  on  I  N 
Arnold,  B  Arnold,  pp.  17-27  ;  Arnold's  MS.  letters  in  N.  Y.  Pub  Library 
(Lenox);  Thompson,  Hist.  2nd  Co.,  Gov.'s  Footguards ;  Hist.  Mag-  Tan  1860 
p.  18  (his  mother's  letter);  Earle,  Costume,  p.  59  (Gabriel)-  and  of  course  a 
wide  range  of  reading.  The  hymn-book  is  still  in  existence  (Am.  Antiq  Soc  ) 

The  author  hopes  that  he  will  not  be  accused  of  palliating  treason  because 
he  sets  down  some  things  to  Arnold's  credit.  His  duty  is  to  report  the  facts 
And  it  will  not  injure  us,  as  students  of  events,  to  remember  that  a  iudge  who 
does  not  discriminate  is  no  judge  at  all.  A  person  unable  to  see  that  snow 
is  white  cannot  see  that  ink  is  black.  He  is  blind,  and  therefore  not  entitled 
to  express  an  opinion  on  such  questions.  To  refuse  to  recognize  merit  is  to 
deprive  ourselves  of  the  right  to  censure  faults.  Besides,  the  Arnold  of  West 
Point  was  the  result  of  development,  and  we  are  bound  to  take  the  man  of  177^ 
and  1776  as  he  was  at  that  time.  775 


n8   Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

one  side  of  the  hymn-book  in  the  old  church  at  Norwich 
with  decorum,  and  he  had  not  yet  forgotten  her  loving 
exhortation,  'Don't  neglect  your  presios  soal  which  once 
lost  can  never  be  regained.'  Strong,  active,  quick-witted, 
and  resolute,  he  could  not  fail  to  be  a  leader,  in  spite  of 
egotism  and  a  domineering  temper.  His  house,  em 
bowered  in  shrubbery,  was  an  arc  of  the  gayest  circle  in 
the  town.  No  doubt  many  a 'newest  fashioned  bonnet ' 
was  turned  out  by  Marie  Gabriel,  'Milliner  from  France,' 
at  her  maximum  price  of  two  shillings  and  sixpence,  to 
grace  his  parties;  and,  on  public  occasions,  he  shone  in 
an  elegant  uniform  as  the  captain  of  a  'crack'  body  of 
militia,  the  second  company  of  the  Governor's  Foot- 
guards. 

The  next  day  after  the  skirmish  at  Lexington,  word  of 
it  reached  New  Haven.  'Good  God! '  Arnold  had  ex 
claimed  on  hearing  of  the  'Boston  Massacre'  while  at  St. 
George's  Key;  'Good  God,  are  the  Americans  all  a 
Sleep  &  tamely  giving  up  their  glorious  Liberties,  or  are 
they  all  turned  Philosophers,  that  they  don't  take  ime- 
diate  vengence  on  such  miscreants  ? '  and  now  he  was 
ready  to  draw.  At  once  he  assembled  his  command  on 
the  Lower  Green,  proposed  marching  to  Cambridge,  and 
called  for  volunteers.  The  greater  part  of  his  men 
stepped  forward.  The  next  day  these  resolutes  and  some 
Yale  students — about  fifty  in  all — appeared  again  on  the 
Green.  A  little  difficulty  as  to  ammunition  arose;  but 
the  Captain  marched  his  force  to  the  place  where  the 
Selectmen  were  in  session,  and  announced  that  he  would 
break  into  the  magazine  unless  they  handed  over  the  keys 
within  five  minutes.  The  devout  Governor  Trumbull— a 
Puritan  divine  grafted  on  a  senator  of  Rome — had  written 
to  a  friend  about  a  week  before,  lamenting  'the  late  awful 
restraints  of  the  Spirit' ;  but  he  could  not  complain  of  his 
Second  Footguards,  and  he  addressed  the  volunteers  in 


A  Secret  Expedition  119 

ringing  words.  Then,  with  a  fresh  series  of  resolutions 
in  their  breast-pockets,  addressed  to  'All  Christian 
People,'  forswearing  'drunkenness,  gaming,  profaneness, 
and  every  vice  of  that  nature/ 
and  scorning  all  'ignoble  mo 
tives,'  the  company  raised  a 
flag  bearing  the  pious  motto, 
' Qui  transtulit  sustinetj  and 
set  out  with  martial  music 
and  a  quick  step  for  the  seat 
of  war.12 

April    twenty-ninth,    they  ARNOLD.S  HOUSE 

reached    Cambridge,   and  the 

very  next  day  their  captain  informed  Dr.  Warren  and  his 
Committee  of  Safety  that  heavy  cannon — many  of  them  fine 
pieces  of  brass — could  be  found  at  Ticonderoga.  Probably 
Arnold  had  seen  the  lakes  as  a  boy,  and  very  possibly 
that  visit  was  his  only  source  of  information.  But,  even 
though  his  figures  flew  somewhat  wide  of  the  mark,  they 
were  quite  exact  enough  to  be  highly  interesting.  The 
Committee  asked  him  to  put  them  in  writing.  He  did  so 
at  once  and  added,  'The  place  could  not  hold  out  an  hour 
against  a  vigorous  onset.'  Before  the  day  ended  a 
letter  was  written  to  the  Committee  of  New  York,  explain 
ing  the  urgent  need  of  cannon,  and  the  necessity  of 
trespassing  a  little  on  the  rights  of  a  sister  Colony.  The 
reply  was  not  waited  for,  however.  Within  forty-eight 
hours,  a  sub-committee  received  instructions  to  confer 
with  Arnold  on  the  matter.  Supplies  were  voted  for  '  a 
certain  service  approved  of  by  the  Council  of  War,'  and 
the  next  day  the  Committee  of  Safety,  'confiding  in 
the  judgment,  fidelity,  and  valor'  of  Captain  Arnold,  did 


12  §  Arnold  to •,  June   9,  1770:  Dreer  Coll.    I.   N.  Arnold,  B.    Arnold, 

PP-  36,   37.    Thompson,    Footguards:  Note   n.     Trumbull,  Apr.  17:  4  Force, 
II.,  339.     Resolutions  :ib.,  383. 


i2o  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

constitute  and  appoint  him  'Colonel  and  Commander  in 
chief  over  a  body  of  men  not  exceeding  four  hundred/ 
with  instructions  to  'proceed  with  all  expedition'  and 
reduce  the  fort  at  Ticonderoga  if  he  could.13 


TICONDEROQA   IN    1759 

A,  C,  G,  M,  Batteries  ;  B,  Fort ;  D,  Wharf;  E,  Storehouses  ;  F,  [Grenadier] 
Redoubt ;  H,  Prisons  ;  I,  Lime  Kilns  ;  K,  Ovens  ;  L,,  Gardens  ;  N,  Advanced. 
Works 

This  was  well;  but  L,ake  Champlain  lay  beyond  the 
western  mountains,  and  the  men  had  still  to  be  enlisted; 
whereas  the  yth  Regiment  of  Foot  already  stood  under 
arms,  and  every  whiff  of  wind  carried  Gage's  order  nearer 
to  Quebec. 

i3  §  Journ.  Mass.  Prov.  Cong.,  etc.,  pp.  527,  534.  4  Force,  II.,  450,  748,  750, 
751,  782. 


A  Secret  Expedition  121 

But  meanwhile  other  things  happened.  On  his  way 
east,  Arnold  had  met  Colonel  Samuel  H.  Parsons  of 
Connecticut  and  given  him  'an  account  of  the  state  of 
Ticonderoga,'  mentioning  'that  a  great  number  of  brass 
cannon  were  there.'  Parsons  reached  Hartford  (April 
27)  two  days  earlier  than  Arnold  reached  Cambridge, 
and  immediately  had  a  talk  with  Colonel  Samuel  Wyllys 
and  another  gentleman.  This  other  gentleman,  a  comely, 
alert  and  businesslike  person,  with  a  straight,  keen  nose — 
never  keener  than  just  then — was  Silas  Deane,  a  member 
of  the  Continental  Congress.14  Every  prominent  citizen 
of  Connecticut  understood  the  character  of  the  Green 
Mountain  Boys,  for  many  of  them  had  emigrated  from 
that  Colony,  and  their  doings  had  become  famous;  and 
the  trio  at  once  decided  to  forward  sinews  of  war  to  the 
Grants,  and  there  find  muscles,  if  possible,  to  get  hold  of 
the  needed  cannon,  for  on  this  plan  no  large  body  of  men 
would  betray  the  scheme  by  marching  through  the 
country.  So  the  next  day,  supported  by  Christopher 
Lefringwell  and  two  more  citizens  of  weight,  the  schemers 
drew  three  hundred  pounds  from  the  Colonial  treasury  on 
their  personal  responsibility,  and  sent  off  Noah  Phelps 
and  Bernard  Romans  with  that  amount, — plus  the  promise 
of  more,  should  more  be  needed.15 


1 4  Portrait,  engraved  in  1783,  N.  Y.  Pub.  library  (Irenes). 

1 5  Authorities  on  which  the  account  of  the  expedition  against  Ticonderoga 
is  based:  The  Connecticut  documents  (Mott's  account,  Parsons's  letter,  Elisha 
Phelps's  letter,  etc.)  in  Conn.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  I.;  the  letters  of  Arnold,  Allen, 
Mott,  and  others  to  the  Mass,  authorities  printed  with  the  Journal  of  the.  Mass. 
Prov.  Cong,  and  Cora.  Safety;  E.  Allen's  account    in  his  'Narrative  ';    John 
Brown's  account  (in  substance)  (4  Force,  II.,  623);  Easton's  (account  in  sub 
stance)  (4  Force,  II.,   624);  Easton's  Memorial,  June  14,  1786  (Contin.  Cong. 
Papers,  No.  41,  III.,  p.  i33t;  Account  of  '  Veritas '   (4  Force,  II.,  10851;  Hartford 
Courant,  May  22,  1775;  Worcester  Spy,  May  17,  1775;  various  letters  of  Allen 
and  Arnold  (found  readily  in  Force  by  looking  at  this  period  in  the  chrono 
logical  list  at  the  beginning  of  Ser.  4,  Vol.  II.);  Memorial  of  Delaplace  (Conn. 
Arch.,  Rev.  War.,  I.,  Doc.  405);  Minutes  of  ordnance  (4  Force,  IV.,  534).   More  or 
less  valuable  information  has  been  found  in :  Goodhue,  Shoreham,  pp.  1-17  ; 
Thompson,  Vt.;  Hall,  Vt,  pp.  198-201  ;  Hall,  Ti.,  pp.  8-27 ;  Chittenden,  Ti.,  pp. 
23-51  ;  Trumbull,  Origin,  p.  8  ;  Hemenway,  Hist.  Gazetteer  ;  Isham,  E.   Allen, 
p.  75,  etc.;    I.   Allen,  Vt.,   pp.   55-59;    Arnold,   B.   Arnold;     Hollister,    Conn; 
Sheldon,  Deerfield ;  Trumbull,  Northampton  ;  Smith,  Pittsfield,  I.,  pp.  215-221  , 
Field,  Pittsfield ;  Dewey,  Stockbridge  ;  Pope,  Western  Boundary;  Picturesque 


122  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

Later  the  same  day  (April  28),  Edward  Mott,  just 
appointed  a  captain  in  Parsons' s  regiment,  went  to 
Hartford  and  met  L,effingwell. 

'How  are  the  people  in  Boston?'  inquired  the  latter. 
Mott  had  been  making  a  visit  at  the  camp,  and  gave  what 
news  lay  on  his  tongue. 

'How  can  they  be  relieved?'  L,effingwell  then 
asked,  with  an  air  of  simplicity.  '  Where  do  you  think 
artillery  and  stores  can  be  got  ? ' 

'That  I  know  not,  except  we  go  and  take  possession 
of  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point;  and  that  I  think  might 
be  done  by  surprise  with  a  small  number  of  men,' 
replied  Mott.  Perhaps  he,  too,  had  met  Arnold  on  the 
road.18 

'Wait  here  a  moment,'  responded  Leffingwell,  hurrying 
away.  In  a  little  while  he  returned  with  Deane  and 
Parsons. 

'Will  you  undertake  such  an  expedition  as  we  were 
talking  of  just  now  ? '  he  asked. 

'I  will,'  replied  Mott. 

On  this  Mott  was  let  into  the  secret,  and  invited  to 
follow  after  Phelps  and  Romans  with  a  few  others.  The 
first  party  was  to  halt  at  Salisbury  and  the  second  could 
join  it  there. 

Accordingly,  on  Saturday  afternoon,  April  the  twenty- 
ninth,  Mott  and  five  companions  rode  out  of  Hartford 

Berkshire  ;  Dewey,  County  of  Berkshire  ;  T.  Allen,  Berkshire  County  ;  'First 
Church  of  Pittsfield';  Burnham,  T.  Allen;  '  Greylock,'  Taghconic  ;  Bryan, 
Book  of  Berkshire  ;  Benton,  Vt.  Settlers,  pp.  105,  106 ;  Caverly,  Pittsford  ; 
Rudd,  Salisbury,  p.  n  ;  Jennings,  Memorials  ;  Mrs.  Plunkett  in  N.  Y.  Gen. 
and  Geog.  Record,  Oct.,  1897.  [T.  Allen]  to  [Pomeroy],  May  4,  1775  (4  Force,  II., 
507);  [Id.]  to  [Id.],  May  9,  1775  (ib.,  546);  Walton  (ed.),  Records, passim;  Chipman, 
S.  Warner,  p.  78  ;  Vermonter,  Mar.,  1903;  Swift,  Addison  County;  Cook,  Ti.; 
Joslin  and  Frisbie,  Poultney  ;  Dawson,  Battles  ;  De  Puy.  E.  Allen  ;  Gordon, 
Hist.  U.  S.;  Robinson,  The  Hero  of  Ti.  (i.e.,  Beaman);  an  article  by  N.  Beaman, 
printed  in  the  N.  Y.  newspaper  called  the  Palladium,  May  28,  1835.  The  author 
visited  the  ground  and  obtained  interesting  information  from  the  local  anti 
quarians.  REMARK  III. 

i 6  If  not.  the  coincidence  was  extraordinary.  It  should  be  added,  how 
ever,  that  the  idea  of  getting  cannon  from  the  lakes  was  somewhat  wide 
spread  in  Conn.;  see  Saltonstall  to  Deane,  Apr.  25, 1771; :  Conn.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll., 
II.,  p.  218. 


A  Secret  Expedition  123 

toward  the  Housatonic  valley.  That  night  they  put  up  at 
Smith's  in  New  Hartford.  Sunday,  they  pressed  on  with 
out  drawing  rein  at  the  church  doors,  crossed  Norfolk, 
and  skirted  the  long  ridge  of  Wangam  Mountain,  probably 
turning  off  to  the  right,  as  they  approached  Canaan,  for  a 
glass  of  something  warm  at  the  Lawrence  Tavern. 
Refreshed,  they  traversed  the  flat  intervale  of  the 
Housatonic,  forded  the  river  at  Indian  Crossing,  left  Tom's 
Mountain  over  the  right  shoulder,  arid,  after  winding 
between  the  hills  and  ponds  of  Salisbury,  found  before 
them — beautiful  of  itself  and  enamelled  at  that  hour 
with  all  the  colors  of  sunset— the  broad  sheet  of  water 
that  has  given  a  name  to  L,akeville. 

Salisbury  Furnace  the  place  was  called  then;  and, 
where  the  outlet  of  the  lake — a  clear  and  musical  brook, 
tumbling  over  a  high  bank — made  what  people  described 
as  a 'water  privilege,'  there  stood  a  forge  and  a  blast 
furnace,  with  a  pair  of  wheezy  bellows  driven  by  the  falls. 
Primitive,  no  doubt,  yet  not  mean  was  this  establishment, 
the  earliest  of  the  sort  in  Connecticut;  for,  between  1776 
and  1780,  it  was  to  cast  many  a  swivel  and  mortar  and 
even  cannon  as  heavy  as  i8-pounders,  to  back  up  the 
Declaration  of  Independence.  But  just  now  Salisbury 
Furnace  had  an  interest  of  another  sort.  Ten  years  before, 
one  of  its  proprietors  had  been  Bthan  Allen;  one,  if  not 
two,  of  his  brothers  lived  here  still;  and  Heman  Allen  was 
despatched  to  let  Ethan  know  what  was  on  foot,  so  that 
his  Green  Mountain  Boys  might  be  ready.17  For  another 
reason,  also,  the  Furnace  was  a  good  halting-place.  In 
August,  1774,  the  inhabitants  had  voted  in  their  town- 
meeting  that  'our  poor  brothers  of  Boston,  now  suffering 
for  us,  shall  share  with  us  our  plentiful  harvest';  and 


i 7  It  has  been  disputed  whether  Heman  Allen  was  despatched  from  Salis 
bury  or  from  Pittsfield.  The  point  seems  to  be  settled  by  an  entry  in  Romans's 
accounts :  '  Paid  H.  A.  going  express  after  E).  A.  120  miles,  £2  sh.i6.'  See  Hall, 
Ti.,  p.  18. 


124  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 


help  to  get  cannon   for   the   relief  of  the  patriot  capital 
could  well  be  expected  in  such  a  community. 

By  morning  the  numbers  had  risen  to  sixteen;  and  it 
seemed  best,  instead  of  adding  more,  to  keep  the  affair 
secret  still,  and  press  on  —  unarmed  —  for  the  Grants. 

Setting  out,  then,  and  turn 
ing  to  the  north,  the  party 
rode  along  very  quietly  all 
day  beside  the  willows  and 
the  windings  of  the  dark 
Housatonic ;  crossed  Stock- 
bridge  plain,  in  the  shade  of 
its  handsome  elms,  with  the 
famous  Indian  Mission  on  the 
hill  at  the  left;  and  passed  on 
the  right  the  parsonage  of 
Jonathan  Edwards,  covered 
with  broad,  hewn  clapboards, 
where  his  daughter,  coming 
home  for  a  visit  nineteen  years 
before,  had  laid  a  bundle  of 
flannels  in  her  mother's  arms 
with  the  proud  words,  'This 
is  my  boy,' — Aaron  Burr. 

Still  more  interesting  to  the 
martial  pilgrims,  no  doubt,  was  the  inn,  swinging  its 
cheery  sign  of  the  Red  Lion.  But  no  long  tarry  could 
be  made  there;  and  at  night  they  lodged  in  Pittsfield  with 
one  James  Easton,  a  builder  by  trade,  a  colonel  by  elec 
tion,  a  deacon  by  the  grace  of  the  church,  and  a  tavern- 
keeper  by  the  favor  of  the  public. 

Pittsfield,  reclining  like  a  conscious  beauty  among  its 
fair  hills,  had  just  reason  to  be  called  the  second  node  of 
the  expedition.  On  the  word  of  the  minister,  its  Tories 
were  the  worst  in  the  country;  but  a  couple  were  now 


DOOR   OF  THE   MISSION   HOUSE 


Another  Secret  Expedition  125 

rotting  safely  in  the  horrible  jail  at  Northampton;  two 
more  had  made  for  New  York  with  the  hue-and-cry  at 
their  heels  ;  and  the  rest,  'mute  and  pensive, '  preferred 
to  let  their  opinions  suffocate  at  home  in  pure  air. 
Evidently  the  patriots  did  not  lack  zeal.  Only  the  day 
before,  they  had  filed  into  the  paintless,  blindless,  belfry- 
less,  and  fireless  church,  and  heard  one  of  the  most  notable 
among  them  preach, — one  whose  mild  and  delicate 
features  and  slight  figure  gave  little  token  that  he  would 
be  known  as  the  'fighting  Parson  Allen'  of  Stark' s 
famous  victory.  John  Brown,  resting  from  his  Canadian 
trip,  was  certainly  to  be  counted  as  another  of  the  patriots; 
and  Easton,  who  possessed  a  knack  of  inspiring  confi 
dence — a  sort  of  'confidence-man'  he  was,  indeed — could 
claim  to  rank/n?  tempore  as  a  third.  In  fact,  these  three 
with  four  others  had  been  chosen  in  1774  as  the  Standing 
Committee  of  Safety  and  Correspondence.18 

Hearing  that  Brown  had  served  the  cause  so  ably,  the 
conspirators  opened  their  plans  to  him  and  Easton.  Both 
agreed  to  join  the  party,  and  they  advised  that,  as  the 
people  on  the  Grants  were  poor  and  provisions  not  abun 
dant  among  them,  it  would  be  well  to  gather  some  men 
and  rations  in  Berkshire.  Accordingly,  \vhile  the  rest  of 
the  party  struck  out  for  Bennington,  to  do  what  they 
could  there,  Mott  and  Easton,  slipping  round  the  skirts 
of  Mt.  Greylock  on  Tuesday  morning,  picked  up  fifteen  of 
Easton' s  militia  in  Williamstown,  while  the  long,  patriotic 
vale  of  Jericho,  which  was  soon  to  borrow  a  new  name 
from  President  Hancock,  contributed  twenty-four.  Equip 
ment  and  provisions  were  secured, — all,  as  Parson  Allen 
wrote,  with  'the  utmost  secrecy';  and  on  Thursday,  the 
fourth  of  May,  this  group  also  marched  for  Bennington. 


18  §  Tories :  [T.  Allen]  to  [Pomeroy],  May  4,  1775  (4  Force,  II  ,507!.  Jail: 
Trumbull,  Northampton,  II.,  p.  337.  Com. :  Hist.  Mag.,  Apr.,  1857,  p.roS.  Smith. 
Pittsfield,  I.,  p.  190. 


126   Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

That  evening,  bad  news.  An  express  from  the  front 
burst  upon  them,  all  excitement.  A  man  who  had  been 
at  Ticonderoga  had  met  the  advance  party;  the  garrison 
of  the  fort  had  been  reinforced,  he  said;  they  were  on  their 
guard  and  repairing  the  works;  better  dismiss  Easton's 
troops  and  go  no  farther. 

'Who  is  this  man  ?  Where  does  he  belong  ?  Where 
was  he  going?'  demanded  Mott;  but  the  express  could 
not  say,  and  Mott  exclaimed,  'The  men  shall  not  be 
dismissed;  we  will  proceed.' 

And  proceed  they  did.  Skirting,  after  a  brisk  march, 
the  broad  base  of  Mt.  Anthony,  and  casting  a  final  glance 
at  misty  Greylock  behind  them,  they  passed  the  little 
Walloomsac  Inn  on  the  left,  and  on  the  right  a  diminutive 
Common  with  an  equally  diminutive  church  at  the  foot  of 
it,  and  arrived  in  a  few  minutes  more  at  a  large  wrooden 
building  with  two  chimneys  and  a  stone  doorstep  inscribed 
S.  F.  This  was  the  Catamount  Tavern;  and  aloft  there, 

looking  saucier  than  ever, 
grinned  the  emblem  of  de 
fiance.  Here  they  found  the 
rest  of  the  party,  except  that 
Mr.  Halsey  and  Captain  Ste 
phens  had  gone  to  feel  the 

P.TTSF.ELD  IN  1807  P*blic  Pulse    at    Albany,   and 

Noah  Phelps  with   Mr.   Hea- 
cock  to  reconnoitre  Ticonderoga. 

A  'Council  of  War'  sate  without  delay,  doubtless  in 
the  chamber  where  the  words  'Council  Room,'  faintly 
scratched  on  the  marble  lintel  of  the  fireplace,  denoted 
the  assembly  hall  of  the  Grand  Committee.  Ethan  Allen, 
longing  for  an  opportunity  to  'signalize'  himself,  was 
eager  for  the  expedition,  and  had  already  done  much. 
An  amiable  giant  named  Seth  Warner,  second  in  com 
mand  among  the  Green  Mountain  Boys,  had  little  to  say 


The  March  127 

but  looked  all  battle  and  victory.  Dr.  Jonas  Fay,  son  of 
the  landlord,  agreed  to  go  as  the  surgeon. 

Provisions  were  still  found  scanty,  and  two  men  set  off 
to  Albany  New  City  19  in  search  of  supplies.  Arrange 
ments  had  to  be  made  for  patrolling  all  the  roads  leading 
toward  the  enemy,  so  as  to  pick  up  information  and 
prevent  any  interesting  news  from  going  astray.  Some 
volunteers  had  come  in,  but  not  enough;  and  steps  were 
taken  to  raise  more  as  fast  as  possible.  Then,  with  some 
cattle  and  some  wagons  full  of  provisions,  the  embryonic 
army  set  out  for  the  north.  It  was  only  a  shapeless  body 
of  roughly  dressed  farmers,  with  guns  at  all  angles  on  their 
shoulders  and  hats  at  all  angles  on  their  heads.  No 
banners  flashed  gay  notes  of  color  in  the  sunlight;  no 
drums  roused  the  pulses  ;  no  fifes  woke  the  nerves.  But 
courage,  skill,  and  purpose  lay  out  of  sight  under  the 
humble  coats,  and  then  as  ever  the  invisible  things 
outweighed  the  seen. 

Climbing  first  a  slight  hill,  they  reached  the  spot  where 
the  Bennington  Battle  Monument  was  later  to  rear  its 
grand  height.  Below  them  spread  a  vast  flat  basin  of 
woodland.  Bald  Peak  and  the  main  line  of  the  Green 
Mountains  cheered  them  on  from  the  right;  the  Taconics 
walled  them  in  on  the  left;  and  Mt.  Equinox,  rising 
midway  almost  straight  ahead,  beckoned  them  forward. 

Plunging  at  once  down  the  steep  slope,  they  buried 
themselves  in  the  woods,  and  strode  on  with  a  long,  lithe 
gait — suggestive  of  the  lion  if  not  of  the  drill  sergeant — 
gathering  at  every  step  that  highland  stimulus  which  has 
always  made  the  mountaineer  a  freeman.  Hepatica, 
trilium,  and  bloodroot  beamed  encouragement  from  the 
roadside  with  bright  though  drowsy  eyes  just  washed  in 
dew.  Morning  breezes  that  had  slept  overnight  on  the 

19  About  five  miles  north  of  Albany,  on  the   east  side  of  the  river  O,iv., 
Journal,  Sept.   23). 


128  Our  vStruggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

odors  of  the  hemlock  and  the  fir,  breathed  upon  them 
the  spirit  of  liberty  and  of  power.  The  grand  ranges  past 
which  they  filed,  gave  them  a  sense  of  tremendous  pro 
tection  and  support.  At  Arlington,  over  against  the 
hill  where  Ethan  Allen  built  himself  a  house  and  dug 
a  well— destined,  like  Jacob's,  to  outlive  its  maker— Sad 
dleback  and  Bald  Mountain  upreared  a  front  so  majestic 
and  inspiring  that  Vermont  has  engraved  this  view  on 
her  state  seal.  At  North  Dorset  the  ranges  planted  their 
splendid  marble  columns  face  to  face  with  an  air  of 
sublimity  that  enjoined  great  purposes  and  bold  exploits. 
The  volunteers  perhaps — even  probably — did  not  suspect 
how  far-reaching  their  mission  was;  but,  with  the  capacity 
if  not  the  consciousness  of  doing  grand  things  they  blithely 
traversed  these  magnificent  scenes,  pressed  on  through  the 
widening  valley  beyond,  and  finally  debouched  on  the 
sandy  but  shady  plain  of  Castleton.  At  the  western  end 

of  the  long,  straight  street, 
just  where  plain  sank  into 
intervale,  stood  the  tavern  of 
Zadok  Remington,  facing 
toward  their  own  dear  mount 
ains;  and,  in  the  two  stories 
of  this  rambling  but  roomy 
hostelry,  they  found  comfort 
able  lodgings.  It  was  now 

THEF.RSTMEET.NQ-HOUSE,       Sunday    evening,     May   the 
PITTSFIELD  seventh. 

'Cassel     Town' — so    Mott 

called  it — had  been  appointed  as  the  general  rendezvous, 
and  on  Monday  about  one  hundred  and  seventy  men 
were  gathered  there.  Phelps  arrived  with  good  news 
from  Ticonderoga.  In  the  guise  of  a  country  bumpkin, 
he  had  rowed  across  the  lake  and  put  up  for  the  night 
at  a  house  near  the  fort.  Several  officers  came  there  for 


A  Knotty  Problem  129 

a  supper-party,  and  he  listened  with  his  very  pores  while 
they  discussed  the  feeble  state  of  the  works.  The  next 
morning,  shambling  past  the  guards  to  get  shaved,  he 
noted  that  nearly  all  the  cannon  were  unavailable,  the 
walls  and  gates  out  of  repair,  the  garrison  unsuspicious; 
and  he  also  heard  that  the  powder  had  been  damaged.20 

In  due  season,  the  Committee  of  War — Captain  Mott, 
Chairman — got  together  in  Richard  Ben tley's  modest  farm 
house,  and  the  final  plans  were  laid.  Allen,  Hasten,  and 
Warner  should  rank  in  that  order,  according  to  the 
number  of  men  raised  by  each  of  them.  Shoreham  was 
to  be  the  port  of  embarkation  to  cross  the  lake.  A  party 
under  Captain  Herrick 21  of  Bennington  should  go  to 
Skenesborough,  about  nine  miles  distant,  at  the  very  head 
of  Lake  Champlain,  take  possession  of  the  place,  and 
bring  down  to  Shoreham  in  the  night  whatever  shipping 
could  be  found;  while  Captain  Douglas  would  visit  his 
brother-in-law  residing  opposite  Crown  Point,  and  con 
trive  some  way  to  get  hold  of  the  King's  boats  lying  there. 
The  party  for  Skenesborough  was  drafted  out,  and  Allen, 
striking  across  into  Sudbury,  took  the  old  Crown  Point 
military  road  ior  Shoreham  to  meet  some  volunteers.  By 
this  time  night  was  at  hand;  but,  in  the  stead  of  evening 
zephyrs,  there  came  a  whirlwind  on  horseback:  Benedict 
Arnold. 

Equipped  with  his  commission,  ten  horses,  one  hundred 
pounds  of  'cash,'  a  quantity  of  ammunition,  and  the 
privilege  of  selecting  his  chief  officers,  Arnold  had  ap 
pointed  a  number  of  captains  on  the  third  of  May,  and 
sent  them  off  to  enlist  their  men."  John  Brown's  report, 
advising  that  Green  Mountain  Boys  be  employed  to  seize 
Ticonderoga,  lay  in  the  files  of  the  Committee  that  dealt 


20  REMARK  IV. 

2 1  He  spelled  his  name  Hearick :  letter.May  31,  1775,  N.Y.  Pub.  L,ib.  (Lenox). 

22  REMARK  V. 
VOL.  I. — 9 


130  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

with  Arnold,  and  probably  he  had  conned  it  well.  At  all 
events,  he  made  for  the  New  Hampshire  Grants  without 
loss  of  time.  On  the  morning  of  the  eighth,  he  was  at 
Rupert,  heard  that  the  fort  had  been  alarmed,  and  knew 
something  about  the  Allen-Mott  expedition;  but  for  all 
this  he  had  no  thought  of  giving  up  his  plan.  Writing 
hastily  'To  the  Gentlemen  In  the  Southern  Towns,'  he 
begged  them  to  'send  forward  as  many  Men  to  join  the 
Army  here  as  you  can  Posably  spare.  .  .  .  Let  Every 
Man  bring  as  much  Powder  &  Ball  as  he  can  Also  a 
Blanket  their  wages  are  407  pr.  Month.  I  humbly 
engaged  to  see  paid  also  the  Blanket.'  "  Then  he 
pushed  for  Castleton. 

A  knotty  problem  now  challenged  the  Committee  of 
War.  There  stood  Arnold,  with  a  commission  in  his 
hand  but  not  a  man  at  his  back  except  one  servant, 
coolly  proposing  to  take  command  of  their  expedition. 
Worse  yet,  he  could  offer  some  very  uncomfortable 
reasons,  and  no  doubt  he  did.  The  Colony  of  Massachu 
setts  had  appointed  him  a  colonel,  had  sent  him  out  for 
the  express  purpose  of  seizing  Ticonderoga,  and  had  taken 
steps  to  satisfy  New  York  for  the  invasion  of  her  soil.  His 
authority  lacked  nothing,  and  nobody  else  had  any 

authority  at  all.      Allen 

—   "I:  an 

^~  *~    *" ^~"  Kaston     had     no    rank 

save  in  the  local  militia;  Mott  was  only  a  volunteer.  To 
blot  a  just  cause  with  an  act  of  private  lawlessness  would 
not  merely  be  wrong  in  the  eyes  of  the  world;  it  would 
even  be  ridiculous. 

And  that  might  prove  only  the  smallest  part    of   the 


23  A  facsimile  in  Smith,  Pittsfield,  I.,  p.  218.  Robert  Cochran,  a  leading- 
Green  Mountain  Boy,  resided  at  Rupert  (Hall,  Vt.,  p.  46o).  The  towns  referred 
to  were  Pittsfield  and  those  adjacent. 


A  Knotty  Problem  131 

mischief.  In  the  view  of  New  York,  these  Green  Moun 
tain  Boys  were  outlaws.  Only  yesterday,  as  a  penniless, 
exiled  victim  of  the  Bennington  Mob,  Hough  had  been 
seen  begging  for  bread  in  the  streets  of  Manhattan,  and 
heard  repeating  right  and  left  how  Allen  called  the 
Yorkers  'damned  cowards.'  24  An  armed  invasion  of 
her  territory  by  these  fellows  would  seem  to  the  Colony  a 
fresh  outrage,  menace,  defiance  and  insult,  and  might  place 
it  side  by  side  with  the  British  government  in  wrath  and 
resentment.  As  for  the  Connecticut  men  in  their  company, 
New  York  would  very  likely  demand  their  punishment. 
Connecticut  would  refuse  it.  There  would  be  a  feud. 
The  union  of  Colonies,  absolutely  indispensable  for  the 
success  of  the  cause,  would  break  in  two;  New  York 
would  go  over  to  the  enemy;  and  America  would  be 
doomed.  But  only  let  the  Boys  enlist  under  Arnold,  and 
they  would  be  soldiers  instead  of  bandits,  patriots  instead 
of  outlaws.  If  they  cared  for  the  cause,  would  they 
hesitate  ? 

Hesitate  they  did,  and  more.  The  leaders  had  assigned 
the  parts  and  apportioned  the  honors  ;  Connecticut  funds 
were  paying  the  expenses;  the  men  had  been  guaranteed 
the  officers  of  their  choice;  under  no  others  would  they 
serve;  and  as  for  the  haughty,  domineering  stranger,  with 
his  gaudy  uniform,  his  lackey,  and  his  piece  of  paper, 
the  Castleton  graveyard — as  very  likely  some  one  sug 
gested — lay  just  across  the  street.  Yet  the  force  of 
Arnold's  position  must  have  been  felt;  for  the  next  morn 
ing,  when  he  set  off  to  have  a  lion-and-tinicorn  bout  with 
Allen  on  the  subject,  the  men  were  much  afraid  their 
stubborn  leader  would  yield,  and,  abandoning  the  pack- 
horses  already  laden  with  provisions,  they  hurried  on 
after  him,  threatening  to  'club  their  firelocks'  and  march 

24  4  Force,  II.,  215-218. 


132   Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 


for  home,  if  an  officer  not  of  their  choosing  were  to  give 
them  orders.  In  fact,  Allen  did  show  signs  of  yielding. 
'Your  pay  will  be  the  same  if  he  does  command,'  said 
he  to  the  men. 

'Damn  the  pay! '  they  shouted;  and  they  looked  it. 
But  happily  the  difficulty  could  be  settled.  Allen  had 
notions  of  responsibility,  and  felt  anxious  to  get 
under  cover  of  the  law  once  more.  Arnold  could  not  bear 
to  drop  out  of  the  enterprise,  and  did  not  wish  the  men  to 
scatter  and  betray  the  secret.  The  Green  Mountain 
Boys,  needy  farmers  eager  to  plant  their  crops,  could  not 
remain  long  from  home;  and  Arnold  remembered  that  his 
own  volunteers  would  soon  begin  to  arrive.  So  it  was 
agreed  that  Allen  should  issue  commands  jointly  with 
Arnold  for  the  present,  and  later,  as  his  men  disbanded, 
he  would  naturally  give  way.  Ruffled  plumage  then 
subsided  gradually;  eyes  faced  front  again;  and,  since  the 
enemy  were  now  at  hand,  the  force  moved  on  through  the 

woods  very  cautious 
ly.  Guided  by  the 
mellow  notes  of  a  hu 
man  cuckoo,  it  slow 
ly  approached  L,ake 
Champlain;  and,  dur 
ing  Tuesday  after 
noon,  it  concealed  it 
self  in  a  shallow  rav 
ine  at  Hand's  Cove, — 
a  small  bay  of  little 
depth  about  a  mile 
to  the  northward  of 
Ticonderoga. 

Meanwhile,  Major  Beach  had  set  out  from  Castleton 
with  a  final  call  for  recruits,  and  within  twenty-four  hours 
he  covered  sixty  miles  of  intricate  woods.  It  was  a  march 


HAND'S  COVE 
I/x>king  toward  Ticonderoga 


Preparing  to  Strike  133 

fit   for  the  heroic  age.     Even    the  forest  was  taken  by 
surprise.     In    and   out   of  the  shadows   darted   another 
shadow  like  a  shuttle;  in  and  out  of  the  bright  sunlight,  a 
brighter  flash  of  steel.     The  violet  and  the  arbutus  found 
themselves  pressed  to  the  soil;  but  they  lifted  their  heads 
in  an  instant,  sweetened— not  crushed— by  the  light  foot. 
The  lynx  opened  his  crystal  eyes;  but  he  quickly  saw  that 
hehadnotbeensentfor,and  closed  them  with  a  long  breath. 
The  frightened  robin  stooped  to  fly;  but  already  the  intruder 
was  gone.  From  clearing  to  clearing  flew  the  summons,  and 
it  was  obeyed  as  quickly.     No  dragon's  teeth  were  needed 
to  draw  armed  men  from  this  ground.     The  axe  dropped  at 
the  foot  of  the  tree;  the  fork  stood  still  in  the  turf;  the 
farmer  hurried  to  his  cabin.     Two  words  to  the  woman  at 
the  loom;  a  glance  into  the  rough  box  on  rockers;  a  snatch 
at  the  firelock  and  powder-horn;  a  shadow  on  the  thres 
hold;  and  already  he  was  on  his  rapid  way  to  Hand's  Cove. 
There,  hidden  among  the  trees,  the  company  waited  for 
light  and  the  boats  from  Skenesborough :  night  came  but 
the  boats  did  not.     Douglas  had  better  fortune,  though 
not  all  that  he  wished.     On  his  way  to  get  a  scow  that  he 
remembered,  he  stopped  to  enlist  a  man  named  Chapman, 
and  two  smart  lads  in  bed  upstairs  heard  enough  of  the 
talk  to  satisfy  them  what  was  going  on.     Getting  up,  they 
quickly  dressed,  took  a  jug  of  rum,  and  hurried  to  a  point 
of  land  near  which  a  certain  barge  had  been  lying  that 
day,  enrolling  volunteers  as  they  went.     Hailing  the  boat, 
they  asked  to  be  taken  up  the  lake  for  a  squirrel-hunt  that 
was  on  at  Shoreham.     At  first  Black  Jack,  the  captain, 
and  his  two  helpers  demurred;  but  the  boys  promised  to 
help  row  and  dropped  a  hint  about  the  contents  of  the 
jug,  for  they  knew  Jack's  weak   spot.     The  bargain  was 
closed,  the  trip  made  with  all  speed,  and,  on  reaching 
Shoreham,  every  one    except  the  crew   pronounced    the 
hunt  a  great  success.     At  least,  so  the  story  went. 


134  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

An  oblique  voyage  of  about  a  mile  had  to  be  made  across 
the  lake,  and  the  work  of  getting  over  without  the  ex 
pected  boats  from  Skenesborough  proved  very  slow;  but, 
as  dawn  approached,  the  two  colonels  and  about  eighty  - 
five  men  stood  on  Willow  Point,  one  hundred  rods  or  so 
north  of  the  fort,  while  about  a  hundred  and  fifty  impa 
tient  comrades  under  Warner  were  still  on  the  Vermont 
side."  Some  of  the  advance  party  desired  to  wait  for  the 
rest;  but,  as  the  sky  was  already  shot  with  yellow  above 
the  Green  Mountains  and  a  delay  might  be  fatal,26  it  was 
decided  to  attack. 

Arnold  now  claimed  the  right  to  lead,  perhaps  feeling 
better  entrenched  in  his  position  because  no  longer  on  the 
Grants. 

'What  shall  I  do  with  the  damned  rascal, — put  him 
under  guard  ?  '  cried  Allen,  turning  to  Amos  Callender. 

'Better  go  side  by  side,'  was  the  sensible  reply,  and 
that  was  agreed  to.27 

The  men  were  then  drawn  up  in  three  lines,  and  in  low 
but  thrilling  tones  Allen  briefly  addressed  them.  'You 
that  will  undertake  voluntarily,  poise  your  firelocks  !  '  he 
concluded;  and  every  gun  went  up. 

'Face  to  the  right! '  All  faced;  and  then,  guided  by 
young  Nathan  Beaman — who  lived  opposite  and  had  dined 
with  the  commander  of  the  fort  only  a  day  before— they 
set  forward  on  their  march  by  an  old  French  road 
through  the  woods.28 

In  a  few  minutes  they  had  a  glimpse  of  Ticonderoga, 


2  s  REMARK  VI. 

26  Note  the  different  version  of  '  Veritas  '    (4  Force,  II.,  1085%  which  gives 
Arnold  special  credit  for  the  crossing  and  the  immediate  advance,  and  also  for 
being  five  yards  ahead  of  Allen  at  the  wicket.     A  few  probable  points  have 
been  accepted  from  this  account.     Arnold  was  certainly  present,  and  he  could 
not  be  there  without  doing  something.    It  is  unfortunate  that  this  account  is 
anonymous.    There  are  two  Willow  Points  near  Ticonderoga. 

27  Goodhue,  Shoreham,  p.  14.     Allen  to  the  Albany  Com.,  May  11,  1775: 
4  Force,  II.,  606  ('  Colonel  Arnold  entered  the  fortress  with  me  side  by  side  ). 

28  See  Jefierys's  map  of  1758. 


THE   EAST   FRONT  OF  TICONDEROGA   IN    1903 
The  wicket-gate  seems  to  have  been  about  where  the  two  elms  stand 


135 


The  Attack  137 

rising  on  its  elevated  ground  well  up  above  the  horizon. 
'Great  and  surprising  works,'  Chaplain  Robbins  called 
them  a  year  later,  and  the  dim  light  made  them  seem 
greater  than  they  were.29  Higher  still  flew  the  British 
standard,  the  emblem  of  authority  and  power;  and  more 
than  one  heart  shivered  a  trifle  at  the  thought  of  defying 
it.  Little  by  little,  as  the  men  silently  advanced,  the 
bastions  charged  one  by  one  out  of  the  gloom  and  mist  of 
the  dawn;  the  old  French  redoubts  on  the  low  ground 
seemed  crouching  to  spring;  the  fort  loomed  higher  and 
higher  in  the  sky.  Presently,  against  the  grey  blue  set 
with  fading  stars,  they  could  make  out  the  chimneys  and 
gables  of  the  barracks;  and  some  wondered  what  the 
soldiers  below  those  hard  angles  were  doing  just  then. 
Everything  looked  very  quiet  and  confident,  as  if  scorning 
such  an  improvised  foe.  The  cannon  seemed  ready  and 
waiting. 

Ere  long  they  were  under  the  glacis.  Military  men 
might  condemn  the  old  fort;  but  it  still  feared  nothing 
except  artillery,30  and  this  little  squad  of  enemies  had  not 
even  bayonets.  Beyond  the  high  glacis  were  a  moat 
and  a  wall;  and  beyond  them — regulars. 

Three  minutes  more,  and  the  invaders  were  stealing 
along  by  the  foot  of  the  precipice,  crowned  with  masonry, 
which  took  the  place  of  a  glacis  on  the  side  toward  the 
lake.  To  the  left,  at  the  edge  of  the  water,  lay  thirteen 
of  the  precious  cannon;  but  there  was  no  time  to  think 
of  them  just  then.  Straight  ahead,  at  the  very  point  of 
the  promontory,  glowered  the  Grenadier  Redoubt, — was  it 
going  to  open  fire  ? 

Creeping  swiftly  but  warily  round  the  curving  preci 
pice,  they  saw  a  path  running  down  from  the  fort  and 


29  Robbins,  Journal,  Apr.  20. 

30  Gage  to  Dartmouth,  May  17,  1775;  Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Am.  and  W.  Ind.,  Vol' 
130,  p.  327- 


138    Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

turning  a  little  toward  the  north.  A  few  rods  away  it 
ended — at  the  well.  Here  lay  the  weak  point  of  Ticonder- 
oga,  its  back  door.  This  path,  which  led  down  to  the 
water,  led  up  to  a  gate  and  a  covered  way  and  through 
them  to  a  small  rectangular  parade,  walled-in  with  stone 
barracks,  the  heart  of  the  fortress. 

The  gate  had  been  closed;  but  the  wicket — large 
enough  to  admit  two  men  side  by  side — was  open.  Out 
side  stood  a  sentry,  thinking  drowsily  of  his  sweetheart, 
the  next  pay-day,  the  yellow  streak  above  the  Green 
Mountains,  his  near  relief,  his  breakfast, — heaven  knew 
what.  Suddenly,  round  the  slope  at  his  left,  appeared 
new  shadows,  moving  shapes,  forms,  persons,  men  with 
swords  and  guns.  In  an  instant  the  leaders  were  upon 
him.  But  he  knew  his  business.  Levelling  his  piece  at 
Allen,  then  almost  at  its  muzzle,  he  pulled  the  trigger. 

Quick  as  the  Green  Mountain  catamount,  Allen  struck 
the  musket  aside  with  his  sword.  But  that  was  unneces 
sary:  the  damaged  powder  would  not  explode.  Allen 
still  lived, — lived  in  earnest;  and  his  blade  whirled  back 
to  descend  on  the  fleeing  sentry.  For  a  moment,  however, 
the  low  ceiling  of  the  covered  way  stopped  the  sweep  of 
it;  and  the  next  instant,  close  under  the  steel,  the  sol 
dier  burst  into  the  parade,  and  with  one  yell  vanished 
into  a  bomb-proof. 

Another  sentry — there  were  two — tried  to  fire;  but 
he  also  failed.  Pricking  an  American  officer  with  his 
bayonet,  he  found  the  same  blade  flashing  above  his  head. 
Only  a  quick  softening  of  Allen's  heart,  aided  by  a 
comb  in  the  soldier's  hair,  saved  his  brains.  The  musket 
dropped,  and  he  begged  for  quarter. 

No  alarm  was  given;  none  could  be.  That  one  yell 
merely  curdled  a  dream  or  two.  The  garrison  slept  on. 

But  not  long.  'Darting  like  lightning,'  as  Allen 
said,  through  the  covered  passage  or  swarming  up  the 


The  Attack  139 

wall  on  either  side  of  the  gate,  the  invaders  poured  on  to 
the  parade,  formed  roughly,  and  split  their  throats  with 
horrible  Indian  yells,  while  some  of  them — at  Arnold's 
order — secured  the  barracks  doors.  No  more  dreams  now : 
it  was  a  terrible  awakening. 

Borne  along  on  the  roar  of  this  pandemonium,  the  two 
leaders  dashed  up  the  stairs  opposite  the  covered  way, 
which  led  to  the  rooms  of  the  commander,  Captain 
Delaplace  of  the  26th. 

'Come  out  of  here  this  instant,  you  damned  old  rat,  or 
I  '11  sacrifice  the  whole  garrison!'  bellowed  Allen,  pound 
ing  on  the  door  with  the  pommel  of  his  sword. 

The  door  opened;  and  there  stood  the  Captain  in  his 
shirt,  breeches  in  hand;  while  the  frightened  face  of  his 
wife  half  appeared  in  the  darkness. 

'Give  up  the  fort  instantly!'  was  the  form  of  salutation 
that  greeted  him. 

'By  what  authority  do  you  demand  it  ?  '  stammered  the 
dumfounded  officer. 

'In  the  name  of  the  Great  Jehovah  and  the  Continental 
Congress,'  thundered  Allen,  while  Arnold  added,  'Give 
up  your  arms  and  you  '11  be  treated  like  a  gentleman.' 

Delaplace  began  to  stutter  something. 

'Surrender  this  instant!'  cried  the  giant  on  the  land 
ing,  cutting  him  short  with  a  whirl  of  the  sword,  none 
too  far  above  his  head.31 

It  looked  hardly  necessary  to  surrender.  The  fort 
seemed  already  possessed  of  the  devil,  and  the  volunteers 
were  smashing  doors  and  dragging  out  redcoats ;  but 
Delaplace  gave  the  word,  and  the  Americans,  rushing 
pell-mell  into  the  barracks — where  the  troops  had  been 
too  much  astonished  and  dismayed  to  fire,  even  if  they 

31  An  unwarranted  importance  has  been  attached  to  Allen's  words.  The 
version  of  the  text  is  an  attempt  to  combine  all  the  well-supported  accounts  of 
the  matter.  See,  in  particular,  E-  Allen,  Narrative;  W.  C.  Todd,  Biog.  and 
other  Articles,  p.  104,  Note  ;  I.  Allen,  Vt.,  p.  58  ;  Goodhue,  Shoreham,  p.  14. 


140  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

could — quickly  'seized,  brought  out  and  disarmed'  the 
rest  of  them.  Not  over  gently  was  this  done,  for,  as  Allen 
phrased  it,  the  assailants  'behaved  with  uncommon 
rancour.'  Cutlasses  and  the  like  clashed  a  little.  But  in 
ten  minutes,  without  loss  of  life  or  serious  wounds,  the 
whole  affair  was  over,  the  fort  vanquished,  the  forty-seven 
soldiers  of  the  garrison  made  fast,  and  fifty-five  good 
cannon,  besides  a  couple  of  mortars,  captured  for  Boston. 
Then,  'with  a  superior  lustre,'  as  Allen  observed,  the 
sun  rose. 

The  next  day,  as  this  joyous  news  went  speeding  across 
the  hills  and  valleys  of  Massachusetts,  it  found  the  good 
people  of  that  Colony  bowing  low  in  their  churches  for 
'Publick  Humiliation,  Fasting  and  Prayer,' and  beseech 
ing  the  Most  High  that  America  might  'soon  behold  a 
gracious  interposition  of  Heaven';  and  to  many,  when 
they  heard  the  message,  it  seemed  as  if  the  petition  had 
been  answered  while  still  in  their  hearts.  Different  in 
form  but  equivalent  in  meaning  was  the  comment  of  Dr. 
Warren.  When  the  tidings  reached  Cambridge,  he  sat 
down  and  wrote  his  friend  Scholly,  'Thus  a  War  has 
begun' ;  and  no  doubt  both  he  and  Samuel  Adams  reflected 
exultantly  that  now  the  road  to  Canada — and  from 
Canada — was  being  cleared.32 


3  2  §  Fast:  4  Force,  I.,  1364.    Warren,  May  17,  1775:  Bancroft  Coll.,  Eng.  and 
Am.,  Jan.-Aug.,  1775,  p.  229. 


V 
TWO  RAIDS  INTO  CANADA 

IT  was  no  mean  performance,  the  capture  of  Ticon- 
deroga.  An  expedition  begun  in  Hartford  and 
in  Cambridge  went  on  for  two  weeks,  moved  hundreds 
of  miles,  developed,  gathered  a  military  force,  collected 
materials  of  war,  and  finally  reached  its  point  of  attack, 
without  permitting  the  enemy  to  get  wind  of  the  secret. 
In  view  of  the  possibilities  of  defence,  it  required  no  little 
courage  to  assault  such  a  post,  garrisoned  with  regulars 
and  guarded  by  sentries  ;  and  skill  in  addition  to  good 
fortune  was  necessary,  if  eighty-five  farmers  were  to 
disarm  and  shackle  fifty  British  soldiers  without  losing  a 
life.  Lieutenant-Governor  Colden  of  New  York  wrote 
the  Earl  of  Dartmouth  in  amazement  of  'the  actual  take- 
ing'  of  His  Majesty's  fort;  while  Dartmouth  in  turn 
pronounced  it  an  'extraordinary  '  as  well  as  'very  unfor 
tunate  '  event.  Yet  this  exploit  was  only  the  beginning.1 
About  fifteen  miles  below  Ticonderoga,  Lake  Cham- 
plain  makes  a  sharp  twist,  and  the  opposing  capes  pinch 
it  down  to  the  width  of  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile.  Here, 
on  the  Vermont  side,  the  French  had  planted  their  first 
settlement  in  this  district  (1731);  and,  when  their  cabins 
went  to  ruin  after  the  English  took  possession,  the  brick 
work  that  remained  standing  gave  the  spot  a  name, — 
Chimney  Point.2  Far  more  important,  however,  was  the 


1  §  Colden.  June  7,  1775:   Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Atn.  and  W.  Ind.,  Vol.  185,  p.  360. 
Dartmouth  to  Gage,  July  i,  1775  •  ib.,  Vol.  130,  p.  343. 

2  Thompson,  L,ake  Geo.,  etc.,  p.  16. 

141 


Crown  Point  Captured  143 

peninsula  on  the  other  shore,  commanding  the  lake  below; 
for,  if  properly  armed,  it  could  solidly  bar  this  passage 
between  south  and  north. 

Long  before  the  Seven  Years  War,  the  French  built  here 
at  the  water's  edge  a  small  stone  fort  garnished  with  a 
tower  and  redoubts,  christening  it  Fort  St.  Frederic  in 
honor  of  Frederic  Maurepas,  their  Secretary  of  State. 
When  Ticonderoga  was  abandoned  to  the  English,  this 
lower  post  met  the  same  fate,  and  Amherst  then  resolved 
to  make  the  most  of  its  advantages.  Discarding  the 
works  already  there,  he  planted  a  five-pointed  star  of  cut 
stone  a  little  behind  them.  Much  of  the  moat  had  to  be 
carved  from  the  living  rock;  but  the  British  government 
achieved  the  task  with  picks  of  solid  gold, — in  other 
words,  millions  of  sterling  money.  The  ramparts  made  a 
promenade  twenty-five  feet  wide  and  half  a  mile  long. 
Redoubts  protected  the  main  fort  on  the  land  side,  and 
the  subsoil  of  dense  limestone  rendered  it  impossible  to  dig 
approaches.  Crown  Point  seemed  the  fitting  name  for 
such  a  stronghold.3 

Yet  all  this  magnificent  work  was  soon  undone.  Some 
accident  started  a  blaze,  and  the  fire  spread  to  the  maga 
zine.  Ninety-six  barrels  of  powder,  if  the  figures  did  not 
lie,  exploded.  The  tops  of  the  splendid  stone  barracks- 
most  of  them,  at  all  events — were  thrown  down  by  the 
shock.  The  woodwork,  all  of  pine,  'caulked  with 
oakum  and  paid  with  Spanish  Brown  and  Tar,'  burned 
like  pitch;  and  soon  only  a  mighty  skeleton  remained. 
Sergeant  Barlow  thought  it  still  'a  very  strong  curious 
Fort,'  in  the  summer  of  1775;  while  it  struck  Barnabas 
Deane  'with  horror  to  see  such  grand  fortifications  in 
ruins.  Impressive,  Crown  Point  could  certainly  be 
called,  but  not  formidable;  and,  on  the  day  Ticonderoga 
changed  masters,  only  some  ten  men  of  the  26th  Regiment,. 

3  §  Thompson,  Lake  Geo.,  etc.,  pp.  18-20. 


144  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

acting  as  caretakers  rather  than  garrison,  stood  guard  over 
the  ordnance  and  stores.4 

Seth  Warner,  for  all  his  coolness,  loved  fun  and  adven 
ture.  Both  tastes  might  be  gratified  in  an  attack  upon 
such  a  post;  and  no  sooner  had  Ticonderoga  been  secured, 
than  he  asked  leave  to  make  it.  The  fact  that  he  had 
consented  to  wait  on  the  Vermont  shore  and  so  missed  the 
glory  of  that  affair  gave  him  a  claim;  and  without  delay 
he  and  Peleg  Sunderland  set  off  in  the  boats  with  fifty 
men.  Head  winds  drove  him  back,  however;  and  the 
project  was  given  up, — perhaps  because  it  seemed  likely 
that  an  alarm  would  soon  travel  north  in  spite  of  the 
winds,  and  Crown  Point  would  be  ready.  But  the  next 
day  a  second  attempt  had  better  fortune,  and  Warner  took 
possession  of  fort  and  garrison  without  a  struggle  'in  the 
name  of  the  country.'  Fifty  or  sixty  good  cannon,  four 
mortars,  and  'great  quantityes'  "of  stores  well  rewarded 
this  comfortable  venture.6 

Prizes  lay  in  the  opposite  direction  as  well.  Separated 
from  the  southern  part  of  Lake  Champlain  by  rugged  and 
picturesque  mountains  and  shielded  on  the  other  side  by 
outposts  of  the  Adirondacks,  beautiful  Lake  George,  the 
Horicon  of  the  Indians  and  the  Lac  St.  Sacrement  of  the 
French,  lay  stretched  at  full  length,  reposing  in  a  bed  of 
fresh  verdure.  The  easiest  escape  from  the  basin  ran 
toward  the  north;  and  the  Outlet  of  the  lake,  after  cir 
cling  through  the  forest  and  tumbling  over  two  series  of 
ledges  in  the  tumultuous  and  'noisy'  falls  that  gave 


4  §  Haldimand  to  Barrington,  Feb.  2,  1774:  Can.  Arch.,  B,  36,  p.  66.    Carroll, 
Journal,  p.  79.     Montresor,    Report,    May  7,   1774:    Can.   Arch.,  B,   35,  p.   123. 
Barlow,  Journal,  Sept.  5.    Kalm,  Travels,  III.,  pp.  21,  22,  35.    Brown's  account: 
4  Force,  II.,  623.     Arnold  to  Mass.  Cong.,  May  14,  1775:  ib.,  584.    Carleton  to 
Dartmouth,  June  7,  1775:  Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Colon.  Corres.,  Quebec,  n,  p.  283.    B. 
Deane's  letter,  June  i,  1775:  Conn.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  II.,  p.  246. 

5  §  Hall,  Vt.,  p.  473.  Goodhue,  Shoreham,  p.  15.    Better  of  Warner  and 
Sunderland:  Dartmouth  Mag.,  May,  1872.    Allen  to  Albany  Com.,  May  12,  1775: 
Mag.  Am.  Hist.,  XIV.,  p.  319.    Given  up,  etc  :  Arnold  to  Mass.,  May  n,   14, 
1775  (4  Force,  II.,  557,  584);  Id.  to  [Mass.  Com.  Safety],  May  19,  1775    (Coll.  of  Mr. 
F.  A.  Arnold). 


Fort  George  Taken  145 

Ticonderoga  its  name,  flowed  nearly  two  miles  more  in 
peace,  and  entered  L,ake  Champlain  just  above  the  fort. 

By  the  road  that  traversed  the  same  pass,  Amos 
Callender,  with  a  small  party,  went  south.  At  the 
bridge  over  the  Outlet,  not  far  below  the  lower  falls,  he 
found  three  heavy  cannon  and  as  many  large  mortars. 
Passing  on,  he  launched  his  canoes  in  the  lake  and 
paddled  to  a  small  affair  of  stone  called  Fort  George  at  the 
farther  end.  Dominating  a  little  eminence  and  fluttering 
a  royal  banner  in  the  gusty  spring  breeze,  the  one  bastion 
did  its  utmost  to  look  formidable;  but  its  walls  were  proof 
only  against  bullets;  heavy  guns  lay  near  at  hand,  and 
the  commander,  Captain  Nordberg  of  the  6oth,  stood 
almost  alone.  Neither  he  nor  the  fort  could  venture  to  be 
obstinate;  and  Callender  soon  returned  in  triumph  with  his 
prisoners,  noting  fifty  more  battering  cannon  at  the  two 
ends  of  the  lake.  All  the  captives  were  now  bundled  off  to 
Connecticut,  reports  despatched  to  Massachusetts,  Con 
necticut,  New  York,  and  Philadelphia,  and  the  spoils  of 
victory  carefully  reckoned  up.8 

Yet  something  was  lacking, — something  vitally  impor 
tant.  Captain  Herrick  had  undertaken  to  surprise  and 
capture  Skenesborough,  the  Whitehall  of  to-day,  seize  the 
boats  lying  there,  and  rejoin  the  main  body:  but  he  did  not 
appear.  The  eventful  tenth  passed  without  him;  and  the 
eleventh  and  twelfth  went  by.  Apparently  something 
had  gone  wrong;  and  for  a  special  reason  this  probability 
of  a  mishap  caused  great  anxiety.  The  British  govern 
ment  had  an  armed  sloop  on  I^ake  Champlain,  which  gave 
it  the  power  of  sending  fleets  of  bateaux  and  landing 
forces  where  it  would,  outside  the  range  of  the  forts. 


6  §  Goodhue,  Shoreham,  p.  15.  Minutes  of  ordnance:  4  Force,  IV.,  534.  Car 
roll,  Journ.,  pp.  62,  71-73.  Robbins,  Journ.,  Apr.  7.  Arnold  to  [Mass.  Com. 
Safety],  May  19:  Note  5.  Easton's  account:  4  Force,  II.,  624.  Nordberg:  Halifax 
letter,  4  Force,  VI.,  513  ;  Nordberg  to  N.  Y.  Cong.,  Dec.,  1775  (Amer.  Bibli- 
opolist,  Apr.  1871).  Reports:  Chap.  VI.,  Notes  32-34;  Arnold,  May  19  (supra); 
Id.  to  Mass.  Com.  Safety,  May  14,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  584. 

VOL.  i. — 10. 


146  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 


Although  Arnold's  avowed 
aim  in  proposing  his  expedi 
tion  was  merely  to  get  cannon , 
he  had  seen  with  character 
istic  promptness  the  import 
ance  of  capturing  the  sloop; 
and,  besides  mentioning  this 
to  the  Committee  of  Safety,  he 
seems  to  have  enlisted  and  for 
warded  a  crew  for  her.7 

It  had  probably  been  expect 
ed  that  the  vessel  would  be 
found  at  Ticonderoga  or  Crown 
Point;  but  unfortunately  she 
>had  gone  to  St.  Johns  for 
provisions  and  other  freight. 
It  was  then  hoped  that  she 
would  return  and  fall  with  her 
lading  into  the  patriots'  hands. 
Scouts  patrolled  both  land  and 
water  to  prevent  information 
from  going  north;  but  a  bark 
canoe  was  seen  paddling  with 
all  speed  in  that  direction,  and 
other  boats  might  have 
passed.  The  alarm  would  be 
given,  and  she  would  remain 
in  safer  company.  It  would 
then  be  necessary  to  go  after 
her,  and  the  schooner  lying  at 
Skenesborough,  though  not  a 
large  one,  would  be  very  con 
venient, — in  fact,  indispen- 


FROM   FADEN'S  AMERICAN   ATLAS 
OF   1776 


7  §  Arnold  to  Mass.  Com.  Safety,  May  14, 
1774:     4    Force,   II.,  584.      Id.   to    Mass. 


Skenesborough  Occupied  147 

sable.  Why  did  she  not  round  the  point,  with  Herrick 
and  his  brave  lads  cheering  on  her  deck?8 

Major  Philip  Skene,  who  fought  like  a  hero  in  'Nabbe- 
cromby's*  ridiculous  attack  on  Ticonderoga,  had  a  busi 
ness  eye.  The  fertile  district  around  the  southern  end  of 
Lake  Champlain,  then  a  solid  wilderness,  pleased  him 
greatly;  and  after  the  war  ended,  although  no  grant  had 
been  assured  him  as  yet,  he  made  the  venture  of  settling 
thirty  families  there.  In  the  Havana  campaign  he 
distinguished  himself  no  less  than  before;  and  finally,  to 
reward  these  services,  he  received  in  the  spring  of  1765  a 
grant  of  25,000  broad  acres  on  Wood  Creek,  at  the  head 
of  the  lake.  Importing  negroes  from  Cuba,  he  proceeded 
to  develop  his  property;  and  the  saw-mill,  grist-mill,  and 
iron- works  of  Skenesborough  became  no  less  valuable  than 
its  deep  forests  and  oozing  meadows.9 

In  May,  1775,  the  proprietor  of  this  great  estate  was 
absent.  More  precisely,  he  might  have  been  seen  pacing 
the  deck  of  an  English  vessel  heading  toward  Philadel 
phia,  with  an  appointment  in  his  pocket  as  Governor 
of  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point,  and  also — if  whispers 
about  London  could  be  trusted — with  a  less  visible  com 
mission  to  buy  up  every  member  of  the  Continental  Con 
gress.10  But  his  son,  Andrew  Philip  Skene,  ruled  the 
estate  in  his  place,  and  on  that  ninth  of  May  ruled  it  most 
probably  in  a  very  cheerful  mood. 

The  big  manor-house  of  iron-grey  stone,  slowly  weath- 


Com.  Safety,  Apr.  30,  1775:  ib.,  450.  Id.  to  Id.,  May  23,  1775:  ib.,  693.  Capt. 
Sloan's  pay-roll:  4  Force,  III,,  355.  The  pay  began  May  3.  The  fact  that  the 
roll  is  dated  at  New  Haven  (July  24,  1775)  suggests  that  Sloan  belonged  to 
Arnold's  New  Haven  Co.  Stephen  to  Fleming,  May  31,  1775:  Emmet  Coll. 

s  §  Arnold,  May  19, 1775  :  Note  5.  Id.,  May  14,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  584.  Warner 
and  Sunderland's  letter:  Dartmouth  Mag.,  May,  1872. 

9  §  Stone, Wash.  County,  passim.  Carroll,  Journal,  p.  102.  Skene's  title  in 
a  grant  at  Westport  (3000  acres)  was  Captain,  but  in  the  N.  Y.  records  he  ap 
pears  as  Major.  Hodden,  Journ.,  pp.  505-509. 

i<>WLeetoS  Adams,  Apr.  10, 1775:  S.  Adams  Papers.  Letter  from  London, 
May  5,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  508.  New  London  letter  in  Boston  Gazette,  June  19, 
1775.  Journ.  Cong.,  June  8,  1775. 


148  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

ering  toward  a  light  grey-buff,  pictured  both  strength  and 
comfort,  shielded,  as  it  was,  from  the  north  winds  by  a 
lofty  hill  of  limestone— piled  in  vast  sloping  beds  fit  for  the 
roof  of  the  world— and  looking  down  upon  broad,  sunny 
meadows,  through  which  the  Dipwater,  as  the  Indians 
called  Wood  Creek,  stealing  from  the  low  hills  in  the 
distance  to  the  quiet  of  the  lake  near  by,  drew  a  waving 
line  of  brightness.  A  little  higher  on  the  hill  stood  a 
huge  stone  barn,— a  fort  in  case  of  need.  Busy  servants 
were  piling  up  riches  for  their  masters.  Creeping  ploughs 
marked  long  furrows  across  the  fields;  the  veins  of  red 
hematite  began  to  bleed  again  for  the  benefit  of  the  iron- 
foundry;  while,  hardly  forty  rods  from  the  mansion,  the 
mill-wheel  turned  sturdily  at  the  falls.  Besides,  young 
Skene  was  a  lieutenant  in  His  Majesty's  43d  Regiment, 
and,  by  the  special  grace  of  General  Gage,  Major  of 
Brigade  for  the  Northern  District.  He  felt  so  highly 
pleased  about  his  father's  new  dignity  and  power  in  the 
region  that,  only  the  Saturday  before,  he  had  put  wings 
to  Major  Beach's  feet  by  telling  him  about  the  new 
Governor's  plan  to  bring  up  a  thousand  men  and  re 
build  the  forts;  and,  finally,  as  the  day  drew  to  a  close, 
there  gathered  with  him  round  the  big  hearth,  two  fair 
and  lively  sisters,  an  estimable  aunt,  and  a  congenial 
friend.11 

A  small  shadow  crept  along  by  the  edge  of  the  meadow. 
No  one  at  the  fireplace  observed  it;  but  presently  they 
all  heard  furtive,  hasty  steps,  and  little  clashes  of  steel; 
and,  looking  out,  they  found  the  mansion  surrounded  by 
rough-looking  men,  total  strangers.  There  was  no  chance 
to  rally  the  tenants  or  even  to  gain  the  barn.  Captain 
Herrick  presented  himself  with  all  the  grace  and  gracious- 


1 1  §  Stone  Wash.  Co., passim.  Hadden,  Journal,  p.  509.  Skene,  Memorial : 
Conn.  Arch.,  Rev.  War,  I.,  doc.  402.  Can.  Arch.,  B,  213,  p.  2.  E  -  Phelps  to 
Conn.  Assemb.,  May  16,  1775  ;  Conn.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  I.,  p.  174-  Chittenden 
Ti.,  p.  107. 


Skenesborough  Occupied 


149 


ness  of  the  Catamount  Tavern;  only  one  reply  to  his 
pressing  invitation  could  be  made;  and  thus,  in  what  the 
Brigade- Major  pronounced  'a  sudden  and  unexpected 
Manner,'  the  Bennington  Mob  did  'seize  upon  and  take' 
his  entire  household.12 

The  advantage  to  be  gained  from  this  capture  proved 
social  rather  than  military,  however;  and,  when  Herrick 
reached  for  the  more  substantial  prizes,  he  found  them 


RUINS  OF  FORT  ST.   FREDERIC   IN   1903 

quite  beyond  his  reach.  Doubtless  the  proceedings  at  the 
mansion  gave  an  alarm.  The  tenants  and  laborers  had 
time  to  arm  and  assemble.  Several  small  brass  cannon 
were  put  in  position.  The  invaders,  very  much  at  home 
with  the  rifle  but  destitute  of  ordnance,  found  themselves 
well  matched,  especially  as  some  of  their  opponents  were 
veteran  soldiers;  and,  in  short,  the  two  parties  held 

12  Skene,  Memorial:  Note  n. 


150  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

each  other  at  bay.  Luckily,  Arnold  had  ordered  that 
some  of  his  men  should  march  for  Ticonderoga  by  the  way 
of  Skenesborough  on  the  same  mission  as  Herrick's;  and 
Captains  Oswald  and  Brown,  arriving  there  with  fifty 
volunteers,  weighed  down  the  balance  and  took  the  Skene 
retainers  into  custody.  The  shipping  also  fell  into  their 
hands;  and  on  May  the  fourteenth,  after  a  tedious  voyage, 
the  coveted  schooner  appeared  at  Ticonderoga,  already 
rechristened  Liberty  ,12 

Meanwhile  the  lion  and  the  unicorn  were  hard  at  it 
again.  Arnold,  while  capable  of  tenderness  and  gracious- 
ness  and  of  holding  his  temper  in  hand  under  great  provo 
cation,  always  found  it  much  easier  to  display  the  opposite 
qualities.  As  a  boy  he  had  tyrannized  over  his  play 
mates,  and  as  a  man  he  saw  no  reason  to  prefer  the  will 
of  any  peer  to  his  own  will.  Conscious  of  superior 
abilities,  he  felt  still  more  pride  perhaps  in  his  military 
training,  his  knowledge  of  the  world,  his  business  experi 
ence,  his  social  polish,  his  commission,  and  his  uniform. 
Allen  he  described,  with  an  approach  to  accuracy,  as  'a 
proper  man  to  head  his  own  wild  people,  but  entirely 
unacquainted  with  military  service';  and  he  explained 
his  own  position  with  equal  frankness:  'as  I  am  the  only 
person  who  has  been  legally  authorized  to  take  possession 
of  this  place,  I  am  determined  to  insist  on  my  right, 
and  I  think  it  my  duty  to  remain  here  against  all  opposi 
tion,  until  I  have  further  orders. J1< 

Allen ,  on  his  side,  made  up  in  picturesqueness  and  force 
for  whatever  he  lacked  in  elegance.  He  was  a  big,  rough 
man  with  a  big,  rough  heart;  capable  of  twisting  a  ten- 
penny  nail  in  two  with  his  teeth  and  of  roaring  out  a 


is  §  Stone,  Wash.  Co.  Easton's  account:  4  Force,  II.,  624.  Arnold's  re 
port:  4  Force,  II.,  584.  N.  Eng.  Chronicle,  June  i,  1775.  Cannon  :  4  Force,  II., 
4=50,  624  (Easton).  Voyage:  ib.,  686.  This  Capt.  Brown  must  not  be  con 
founded  with  John  Brown.  REMARK  VII. 

i4  §  Arnold  to  Mass.  Com.  Safety,  May  n,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  557.  As  a  boy 
I.  N.  Arnold,  B.  Arnold,  p.  22.  Self-control:  Smith,  Pittsfield,  I.,  p.  274. 


Arnold  and  Allen 


Cyclopean  oath;  a  patriot,  a  fighter;  bold,  enterprising, 
headstrong,  rash,  vain;  much  given  to  swagger,  but  very 
far  indeed  from  witless.  With  due  allowance  for  the 
elevation  of  the  Bennington  Catamount  above  the  Tiger's 
lair  and  the  difference  between  Tammany  Hall  and  the 
Green  Mountains  in  point  of  ventilation,  he  might  be 
called  a  sort  of  'Bill'  Devery;  and  all  had  to  admit  that 
Devery  could  both  wield  the  police  force  and  illuminate 


ONE    OF  THE    BARRACKS   AT    CROWN    POINT    IN    1903 


the  daily  press  of  the  American  metropolis,  besides  look 
ing  out  at  the  same  time  for  sundry  small  interests  of  his 
own.  The  capture  of  Ticonderoga  had  naturally  multi" 
plied  both  Allen's  prestige  and  his  self-confidence.  It  is 
said  that  when  the  Reverend  Jedediah  Dewey  made  a 
prayer  ascribing  the  glory  of  that  victory  to  the  Omnipo 
tent,  Allen,  who  somehow  chanced  to  be  sitting  below, 
called  out,  'Parson  Dewey,  Parson  Dewey,  please  mention 
to  the  Lord  that  I  was  there!  '  To  expect  such  a  temper, 
supported  by  the  willful  and  fearless  Green  Mountain 


152   Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

Boys,  to  back  down  at   the  behest  of  a   paper  colonel 
would  have  been  absurd.15 

Arnold's  treatment  of  Allen's  partner,  Hasten,  probably 
did  not  help  matters.  This  gentleman  appears  to  have 
had  the  forethought  to  wet  his  gun  in  crossing  the  lake, 
and  to  have  occupied  the  critical  moments  of  the  assault  in 
drying  it.  Then,  to  atone  for  what  some  doubtless  regarded 
as  a  lack  of  courage,  he  rated  the  unpopular  New  Haven 
colonel  very  soundly — behind  his  back;  though  perhaps 
Arnold's  refusing  him,  as  apparently  he  did  refuse  him, 
a  lieutenant- colonel's  commission  had  something  to  do 
with  the  matter.  At  all  events,  Arnold  heard  of  the 
unpleasant  language,  taxed  the  culprit  with  it,  and,  on  his 
refusing  to  give  'proper  satisfaction,'  kicked  him  about 
the  premises  before  a  number  of  bystanders,  though 
Baston  wore  a  cutlass  at  the  time  and  had  a  brace  of 
loaded  pistols  in  his  pocket.16 

But  the  trouble  ran  deeper  than  personalities.  Arnold, 
a  responsible  commissioned  officer,  stood — and  had  to 
stand — for  discipline  and  subordination;  while,  in  the  very 
nature  of  things,  Allen's  foresters  knew  nothing  of  the 
first  and  scouted  the  second.  'Everything,'  wrote 
Arnold,  'is  governed  by  whim  and  caprice';  and  no 
doubt  the  criticism  had  some  ground.17 

Scarcely  had  the  garrison  at  Ticonderoga  been  secured, 
when  its  conquerors — in  Allen's  own  phrase — began  to 
'toss  round  the  flowing  bowl.'  Like  all  such  militia, 
they  would  obey  their  chosen  leader  for  a  special  purpose 
and  a  special  time,  but  no  farther  would  they  go.  They 
had  acquired,  too,  certain  unconventional  ideas  about  the 
property  of  people  whom  they  did  not  like.  In  the  case 
of  Yorkers,  they  felt  perfectly  justified;  but  still  their 


i5  §  Allen,  Narrative,  passim;  Merrill,  Hist.  Bennington;  etc.,  etc. 

i  6  REMARK  VIII. 

1 1  To  Mass.  Coin.  Safety,  May  n,  1775    4  Force,  II.,  557. 


Trouble  at  Ticonderoga  153 

conduct,  however  well  grounded  as  against  the  govern 
ment  of  New  York,  violated  the  legal  claims  of  settlers 
perhaps  no  less  honest  than  themselves,  and  could  not  fail 
to  beget  a  certain  general  carelessness  in  distinguishing 
between  meum  and  tuum.  It  became  very  easy,  then, 
since  the  British — and  therefore  the  Tories — were  enemies, 
to  appropriate  their  belongings;  and  Arnold  increased  his 
unpopularity  by  trying  to  check  such  liberties.18 

Beyond  all  this  lay  a  still  deeper  trouble.  The  people 
of  the  Grants  belonged  to  no  Colony  and  had  no  voice  in 
the  Continental  Congress.  Undoubtedly  they  sympathized 
with  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut,  from  which  so 
many  of  them  had  come;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
Colony  with  which  they  had  most  to  do  was  their  mortal 
foe.  Allen  wished  and  hoped  sincerely  to  get  somehow 
within  the  pale;  but  for  the  present  the  settlers  had  to 
guard  their  own  interests  and  fight  their  own  battle  as 
they  could.  Accordingly,  the  Green  Mountain  leaders, 
who  had  thought  of  capturing  the  forts  on  the  lake  as  a 
measure  of  self-defence  against  the  British,  appear  to  have 
resolved  now  upon  holding  them  as  a  security  for  their 
lands  against  enemies  in  whatever  quarter,  and  even  upon 
pushing  beyond  the  edge  of  Canada,  seizing  an  advan 
tageous  point  there,  and  in  that  way  standing  solidly 
entrenched  at  both  ends  of  their  frontier.  How  New 
York  would  relish  this,  and  what  effect  the  plan  might 
have  upon  the  relations  of  the  Colonies  to  one  another  or 
upon  the  delicate  question  of  Canada,  could  easily  be 
guessed;  and  in  this  matter  also  Arnold  set  his  face  like  a 
flint  against  the  wishes  of  Allen's  party.19 

The  combination  of  so  many  and  so  radical  differences 

18  Allen,  Narrative,  p.  21.    REMARK  IX. 

19  §  Cf.  Allen's  remarks.  Chapter  IV.,  p.  n6,  with  his  determined  efforts  to 
hold  control  of  Ti.,  and  get  possession  of  St.  Johns,  when  he  admitted  (Mag-. 
Am.  Hist.,  XIV  ,  p.  319)   that  his  men  were  needed  at  their  homes  ;  and  note 
particularly  B.  Deane's  report  to  his  brother  Silas,  June  i,  1775:  Conn.  Hist. 
Soc.  Coll.,  II.,  p.  246 


154  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

brought  matters  into  '  a  very  critical  situation,'  as 
Barnabas  Deane  reported.  Not  only  did  Arnold  find  his 
commission  despised,  but  Allen  declined  to  allow  him  the 
share  of  authority  previously  agreed  upon,  and  boldly 
signed  himself  'Commander  at  this  Place.'  Without  a 
force  at  his  back  the  paper  colonel  could  only  argue  and 
protest;  yet  that  sufficed  to  annoy  and  embarrass  his 
opponents.  He  even  *  had  a  musket  presented  at  his 
breast  by  one  of  that  party,'  Deane  reported,  and  the 
fellow  '  threatened  to  fire  him  through  if  he  refused  to 
comply  with  their  orders,  which  he  very  resolutely  refused 
doing,  as  inconsistent  with  his  duty,  and  as  directly 
contrary  to  the  opinion  of  the  Colonies.'  In  fact,  Arnold 
was  twice  fired  at.'"0 

Finally,  to  dispose  of  this  very  disagreeable  customer,  a 
scheme  wholly  without  a  legal  basis  was  put  through. 
The  Connecticut  expedition  had  rested  upon  no  public 
authority.  Nothing  could  well  be  clearer,  and  Allen 
undoubtedly  understood  the  case.  Certain  citizens, 
believing  the  enterprise  would  prove  advantageous  to  the 
cause,  had  taken  upon  themselves  the  responsibility 
for  it.21  Yet,  when  the  soldiers  '  paraded,  and  declared 
they  would  go  right  home,'  and  'reasoning'  had  no 
effect  upon  Arnold,  Mott,  as  Chairman  of  the  Committee, 
furnished  Allen  with  formal  written  orders,  '  agreeable  to 
the  Power  and  Authority  to  us  given  by  the  Colony  of 
Connecticut,'  directing  him  to  'keep  the  command.'  In 
plain  language,  a  sort  of  conspiracy— mainly  well- 
intended,  no  doubt— was  planned  and  carried  through 
against  Arnold,  and  he  found  himself  completely  set 
aside.  '  I  should  be  extremely  glad  to  be  honorably 
acquitted  of  my  commission,'  he  wrote  to  the  Provincial 

20  B.  Deane  to  Silas:  Note  19.     Allen  to  Albany  Com.,  May  12,  1775:  Mag. 
Am.  Hist.,  XIV.,  p.  SIQ.      E.  Phelps  to  Conn.  Assembly,  May  16,  1775    Conn. 
Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  I.,  p.  174.    Arnold,  Regt.  Mem.  Book,  May  10. 

2 1  REMARK  X. 


Arnold  Goes  to  St.  Johns 


Congress,  'and  that  a  proper  person  might  be  appointed  in 
my  room  ' ;  although,  as  he  repeated,  he  intended  to  remain 
'  at  every  hazard '  until  he  received  further  orders.23 

But  the  wheel  soon  turned.  With  the  schooner,  Cap 
tains  Oswald  and  Brown  brought  men  enlisted  under 
Arnold's  commission. 
It  was  the  Sabbath  when 
they  arrived,  but  no 
great  depth  of  '  heavenly 
manna '  fell  near  the 
south  end  of  Lake  Cham- 
plain.  The  Colonel  could 
now  report  about  one 
hundred  men  under  his 
lawful  command.  The 
schooner  also  belonged 
to  him  by  right  of  con 
quest;  or,  if  not,  by  a 
still  better  right,  for  he 
and  his  Captain  Sloan 
understood  seamanship, 
while  probably  not  a  man 
in  the  other  faction  had 
ever  trimmed  a  sail. 
Here  in  his  hand,  then,  THE  MOAT>  CRQWN  po|NT 

were  the  means  of  doing 

something,  at  last.  The  loaded  sloop  was  still  waiting  at 
St.  Johns  for  a  northerly  breeze,  and  he  resolved  to  carry 
out  immediately  his  plan  of  going  after  her.  To  be  sure 
this  meant  an  invasion  of  Canada.  What  effect  would 
that  have  on  the  people  of  the  north,  what  on  the 
Colonies,  what  on  the  British  government,  what  on 
the  opinion  of  the  world  ?  Doubtless  Arnold  felt  sure  the 


22  §  Mott,  Journal:  Conn.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  I.,  p.  165.    Arnold  to  Mass.  Prov. 
Cong.,  May  n,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  557.    Arnold,  Regt.  Mem.  Book. 


156  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

• 

move  could  easily  be  justified  as  a  military  necessity, 
especially  as  he  did  not  propose  to  occupy  St.  Johns;  but, 
whatever  he  thought  about  that,  his  commission  directed 
him  to  capture  the  British  'vessel,'  and  so  he  would.23 

An  outfit  of  cannon  was  hastily  fixed  on  the  schooner; 
and,  with  her  and  an  armed  bateau,  he  set  out  on  Sunday 
afternoon,  supported  by  Captain  Oswald,  Captain  Brown, 
and  about  thirty  men,  for  the  north.  Contrary  winds 
compelled  him  to  anchor  Monday  night  at  Crown  Point. 
The  next  day,  leaving  the  schooner  to  beat  down  against 
them  if  she  could,  he  put  his  men  into  a  couple  of  boats, 
and  undertook  to  make  the  long  journey  by  rowing. 
Wednesday,  a  fair  gale  set  in;  and  the  schooner,  over 
hauling  Arnold,  took  his  party  on  board  and  made  good 
time.  But  this  did  not  last;  and  at  evening  the  Colonel 
found  himself  thirty  miles  from  St.  Johns,  gazing  at  the 
dreamy  images  of  a  sea  of  glass  :  totally  becalmed. 

Not  mesmerized,  however.  '  Manned  out  two  small 
batteaus,'— was  the  Admiral's  cure  for  his  trouble.  All 
night  they  rowed;  and  at  sunrise,  pushing  into  '  a  small 
creek,  infested  with  numberless  swarms  of  gnats  and 
muskitoes,'  about  half  a  mile  from  St.  Johns,  they  sent  a 
scout  forward  to  investigate  the  situation.  Time  passed 
slowly  in  such  a  place,  but  at  length  he  returned.  The 
garrison  of  about  a  dozen,  from  the  26th  Regiment,  had 
received  news  of  the  doings  above,  but  no  more  suspected 
that  the  same  bag  yawned  for  them,  than  Arnold  sus 
pected  that  Major  Preston  with  one  hundred  more  of  their 
regiment  was  coming  that  way  from  Montreal.  The 
Americans  pushed  on  at  once  and  landed  about  sixty 
rods  from  the  post.  The  old  French  works,  built  of 
wood,  had  virtually  gone  to  ruin;  and  the  garrison,  when 


23  §  Arnold,  Regt.  Mem.  Book.  Arnold  to  Mass.  Com.  Safety,  May  14, 1775-4 
Force,  II.,  584.  Orders  to  Arnold,  May  3,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  485.  Memorial  of 
Oswald  and  Brown :  Cont.  Cong.  Papers,  No.  4i,  X.,  p.  221. 


Allen's  Mishap  157 

the  invaders  'marched  briskly  up  in  their  faces,' 
retired  within  the  barracks,  and  presently,  without  loss 
on  either  side,  yielded.24 

Reinforcements  were  '  hourly  expected  '  not  only  from 
Montreal  but  from  the  nearer  post  at  Chambly;  but  that 
proved  hardly  soon  enough.  Arnold  seized  the  sloop,  a 
handy  vessel  of  about  seventy  tons,  carrying  two  fine  6- 
pounders  of  brass  and  a  crew  of  seven;  destroyed  about 
five  defective  bateaux ;  took  as  many  more  that  were  large 
and  good;  and  embarked  all  the  stores  and  provisions. 
A  fine  gale  from  the  north  sprang  up;  the  sails  were  spread; 
and,  within  two  hours  after  his  arrival,  he  set  out  for 
home  with  his  captures,  '  not  leaving  any  one  Craft  of 
any  kind  behind  that  the  Enemy  could  cross  the  Lake 
in.'  So  far  as  concerned  that  region,  the  nerve  of  Britain's 
right  arm  had  been  cut  at  a  stroke. 

Bowling  steadily  along  with  a  fine  breeze  and  finer 
spirits,  the  conquerors  met  Allen  half  a  dozen  leagues 
above,  with  four  bateaux  and  ninety  or  a  hundred  men. 
Determined  not  to  be  outdone,  they  had  followed  after 
Arnold,  and  proposed  to  establish  themselves  at  St.  Johns 
according  to  their  ambitious  plan  of  defence.  It  was  a 
hardy  enterprise.  For  nearly  three  days  and  nights  the 
poor  fellows  had  not  rested,  and  they  were  now  about 
starved  as  well  as, beat  out.25 

There  have  been  imaginations  deep  enough  and  subtle 


2-»  For  Arnold's  expedition  to  St.  Johns:  his  Regt.  Mem.  Book  ;  his  letter 
to  Mass.  Com.  Safety,  May  19,  1775  (4  Force,  II.,  645);  another  (unaddressed) 
letter  of  his  of  that  date  belonging  to  Mr.  F.  A.  Arnold  ;  his  letter  to  the  Cont. 
Cong.,  May  29  (4  Force,  II.,  734  :  the  original  in  Cont.  Cong.  Papers,  162,  I.,  p. 
8);  his  Certificate  (Cont.  Cong.  Papers,  41,  X.,  p.  223);  Memorial  of  Oswald 
and  Jonathan  Brown  (ib.,  p.  221);  journal  in  Essex  Gazette,  June  i,  1775  ; 
Carleton  to  Dartmouth,  June  7,  1775  (Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Colon.  Corres.,  Quebec,  n, 
p.  283);  Letter  to  Maseres,  June  22,  1775  (Bancroft  Coll.,  Kng.  and  Am.,  Jan.- 

Aug.,  1775,  p.  482);  Caldwell  to ,  May,  1775  (ib.,  p.  157).  French  works. 

Franquet,  Voyages,  p.  61  ;  I.  Allen,  Vt.,  p.  59  ;  Precis  of  Oper. 

2  5  §  For  Allen's  expedition  to  St.  Johns,  besides  the  references  in  Note  24  : 
his  Narrative,  p.  21  ;  his  letter  to  merchants  (Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Colon.  Corres., 
Quebec,  u,  p.  291);  Arnold  to  Mass.  Com. Safety,  May  23,  1775  (4  Force,  II.,  694); 
Id.  to  Conn.  Assembly,  May  23,  1775  (ib.,  840);  Id.  to  Albany  Com.,  May  22,  1775 
ib.,  839);  Verreau  (Sanguinet,  Berthelot),  Invasion,  pp.  29,  227. 


158  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 


FORT  GEORGE  ABOUT  1750 


enough   to   paint   the   smile    on   Arnold's    face   at   that 
moment,  but  not  the  smile  in  his  heart.     The  play  was 

over,  the  curtain  rung 
down,  the  audience 
dismissed,  the  lights 
put  out,  the  com 
pany  going  along  to 
sup  with  him;  and 
here  stood  the  Green 
Mountain  Boys  at  the 
door!  And  possibty, 
behind  the  roses  of 
that  smile,  wriggled 

the  scaly  thought  of  letting  Allen  forge  on  without  a  warn 
ing  into  the  trap  at  St.  Johns. 

But  the  victor  did  better  every  way  than  that.  Com 
bining  duty  with  pleasure,  he  addressed  his  lately  tri 
umphant  rival  in  the  scornful  tone  of  a  mentor.  The 
plan,  he  declared,  was  '  a  wild,  expensive,  impracticable 
Scheme,'  and  '  of  no  Consequence'  either  so  long  as  the 
Americans  were  masters  of  the  lake, — as  he  intended  they 
should  be.  But  obviously  Allen  could  not  yield  at  that 
stage;  and  Arnold,  after  enjoying  the  further  delight  of 
feeding  his  enemies,  went  on.  His  grey  sails  caught  the 
first  hints  of  dawn  off  Cumberland  Head,  and  he  soared 
gaily  into  the  snug  haven  under  the  beak  of  Ticonderoga, 
with  a  booming  salute,  just  as  the  sun  dropped  into  the 
forest  behind  it.  'Providence  seems  to  have  smil'd  on 
us,'  he  observed  complacently. 

From  Allen  fell  no  such  remark.  Scarcely  had  his 
worn  followers  groped  their  way  ashore  in  the  dark  at  St. 
Johns,  when  a  horseman  came  in  by  the  Montreal  road. 
Seized  and  examined — not  against  his  will,  said  friends 
of  the  government — he  proved  to  be  a  merchant  named 
Bindon,  friendly  to  the  Colonials.  Only  the  day  before, 


Allen's  Mishap  161 

lie  had  sent  off  supplies  for  Major  Skene  to  the  value  of 
some  ^200,  and  then,  feeling  uneasy  about  them,  had 
obtained  permission  from  the  military  commander  to 
follow  his  property  to  the  landing.  Little  good  it  did 
him,  but  much  good  the  Americans.  Preston's  detach 
ment  had  crossed  the  St.  Lawrence  with  him,  he  informed 
them,  and  could  not  be  far  behind.  Still  undaunted, 
however,  Allen  wrote  a  letter  '  To  the  Merchants  of  Mon 
treal  '  for  Bindon  to  carry  back  the  next  morning. 

'Gentlemen,'  said  he,  'The  Advance  Guard  of  the  Army 
is  now  at  Saint  John's  and  Desire  Immediately  to  have  a 
Personal  Intercourse  with  you  your  Immediate  Assistance 
as  to  Provision  Ammunition  and  Spiritous  Liquors  is 
wanted  and  fourth  with  Expected  Not  as  a  Donation  for  I 
am  Impowrd  by  the  Colonies  to  Purchase  the  same  and 
Desire  you  would  Fourthwith  and  without  further  Notice 
Prepare  for  the  Use  of  the  Army  of  those  articles  to  the 
Amount  of  Five  Hundred  Pounds  and  deliver  the  same  to 
me  at  Saint  John's  or  at  least  a  part  of  it  almost  Instan- 
taniously  as  the  vSoldiary  press  on  faster  than  Provision — 
I  need  [not]  Inform  you  that  my  Directions  from  the 
Colonies  is  not  to  Contend  with  or  any  Way  Injure  or 
Molest  the  Canadians  or  Indians  but  on  the  other  Hand 
treat  them  with  the  greatest  Friendship  and  Kindness.':28 

Allen's  name  could  cast  a  shadow  even  beyond  the  St. 
Lawrence,  for  the  fame  of  Ticorideroga  had  no  doubt 
arrived  there;  and  some  of  the  merchants  were  for  deliver 
ing  him  the  goods.  Had  they  succeeded  in  doing  so,  the 
consequences  must  have  been  unfortunate,  for  the  leader 
of  the  Green  Mountain  Boys  cannot  have  possessed  any 
thing  near  the  sum  he  promised,  and  sympathy  for  his 


2  6  It  will  be  observed  that  some  of  Allen's  letters  (particularly  those  from 
Force)  appear  with  correct  spelling,  etc  :  others  not.  The  former  were  doubt 
less  emended  by  the  editor.  The  same  may  be  said  of  Arnold's  and  other 
letters.  For  Bindon  see  his  Memorial,  April  18,  1783 :  Cor.t.  Cong  Papers  No 
41,  II.,  p.  134. 


YOL.    I. II. 


1 62  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

cause  among  the  Montreal  traders  would  have  been 
rudely  chilled.  But,  happily  for  the  Colonials,  his  letter 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  authorities;  and  they,  with 
natural  though  mistaken  prudence,  placed  an  embargo  on 
the  proposition. 

This  business  attended  to— for  hunger  and  thirst  could 
not  allow  delay — Allen  marched  his  'Army'  forward  to 
ambuscade  the  British.  As  his  letter  showed,  he  meant 
to  hold  the  ground.  But  the  Boys  could  hardly  keep 
their  eyelids  apart;  and  in  that  state  of  exhaustion, 
although  as  brave  as  any  men,  they  might  well  dread  a 
fight  with  an  equal  number  of  regulars.  "  Anyhow,  when 
the  British  had  come  within  a  mile  or  two,  they  decamped, 
crossed  the  wide  Richelieu,  and  fell — rather  than  lay 
down — to  sleep.  Yet  not  quite  all  of  them :  Preston  and 
the  regulars  got  within  reach  of  the  very  last,  wounded 
some,  and  captured  two  or  three  prisoners.  The  next 
morning,  the  reveille  of  the  invaders,  and  that  early,  was 
the  roar  of  field-pieces  and  the  rattle  of  grapeshot; 
upon  which,  making  a  futile  reply  with  musketry,  they 
tumbled,  panting  and  fainting,  into  their  boats,  and 
pulled  away  south  for  dear  life.27 

How  they  contrived  to  live  for  the  next  few  days  with 
out  the  provisions  and  spirituous  liquors  needed  'almost 
Instantaniously'  they  did  not  record;  but  at  last,  with 
the  wreck  of  their  hopes  and  the  ruins  of  Allen's  prestige, 
they  reached  the  forts.  One  or  two  of  the  men  left  behind 
escaped  from  the  British;  and  when  they  reappeared,  their 
complaints  doubtless  added  venom  to  the  leader's  worm 
wood.  Many  of  the  Green  Mountain  Boys  had  already 
been  compelled  to  leave,  for  both  farms  and  families 
cried  aloud  for  attention.  Naturally,  they  scattered  the 
faster  now,  while  some  of  them  enlisted  under  the  rising 

2  7  Two  or  three  men  were  left  behind  ;  but  it  is  not  certain  that  all  of  them 
were  wounded  or  all  captured:  B.  Deaneto  S.  Deane  (Note  28). 


The  British  Expected  163 

star.  On  the  twenty-ninth  of  May,  Arnold  wrote, 
'Colonel  Allen  has  entirely  given  up  the  command'; 
and,  though  Allen  still  remained  on  the  ground,  ever 
active  and  ever  hopeful,  he  made  a  public  declaration 
that,  until  affairs  were  regulated  and  an  officer  appointed 
to  hold  the  fortress,  he  would  take  no  authority  upon 
himself,  but  would  give  it  up  wholly  to  his  rival.28 

Arnold  for  his  part  begged  to  be  released,  because  he 
felt  himself  not  qualified  to  superintend  the  rebuilding  of 
Ticonderoga;  but  meantime  his  energy  did  not  flag. 
News  came  that  boats  were  to  be  transported  from  Montreal 
to  St.  Johns  and  come  up  the  lake.  One  of  the  Green 


- 
' 


Mountain  Boys  who  had  escaped  from  the  British  reported 
that  four  hundred  regulars  were  repairing  the  craft  that 
Arnold  had  broken  up,  and  making  '  all  possible  prepara 
tions  '  for  this  aggressive  movement,  counting  upon  the 
Indians  for  aid.29 

The  Americans  had  only  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 
men  at  both  posts,  and  as  many  pounds  of  powder.  With 
such  feeble  resources,  the  prospect  of  stopping  General 
Carleton's  move  seemed  hardly  brilliant;  but  Arnold  re 
solved  to  make  a  fight.  The  pass  must  be  held,  if  possi 
ble;  and  the  coveted  ordnance,  not  yet  on  its  way  to 


28  §  Arnold  to  Conn.  Assembly,  May  23,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  840.    Id.  to  Cont. 
Cong.,  May  29,  1775:   ib.,  734.     Id.  to  Mass.  Com.  Safety,  May  29,  1775;  ib.,  735. 
Herrick  to  Arnold,  May  31,  1775 :  Ford  Coll.    B.  Deane  to  S.  Deane,  June  i,  1775 : 
Conn.  Hist,  Soc.  Coll.,  II.,  p.  246.    The  desire  of  Allen's  party  to  take  post  on 
the  Richelieu  was  not  given  up,  however,  as  Deane  shows. 

29  §  Arnold  to  Mass.  Com.  Safety,  May  19,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  645.    Id.  to 
Conn.  Assembly,  May  23,  1775.  ib.,  840.     Id.,  Summons,  May,  23,  1775:  ib.,  841. 
Id.,  Regt.  Mem.  Book. 


1 64  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

Cambridge,  must  be  defended  at  all  hazards.  With  this 
in  view,  headquarters  advanced  immediately  to  Crown 
Point,  nearer  the  enemy,  and  the  country  for  fifty  miles 
below  Skenesborough  and  Fort  George  was  roused.  All 
patriotic  men  were  urged  to  come  with  whatever  good 
arms  they  had,  and  their  powder,  hoes,  pickaxes,  and 
spades.  Fortifications  were  to  be  thrown  up;  and  the 
commander  hoped,  'with  the  smiles  of  Providence,'  to 
keep  his  ground  if  not  'overpowered  by  numbers.'  But 
there  was  really  no  danger.  The  work  of  the  destroyer 
at  St.  Johns  had  been  done  thoroughly.  Later  the 
British  would  come,  and  Arnold  would  be  there  to  meet 
them;  but  for  the  present  they  were  helpless.30 

Yet  the  Americans  had  enough  to  do.  Scouts  watched 
for  the  British  continually,  and  one  reconnoitring 
expedition  exchanged  shots  with  the  enemy  at  St. 
Johns.  Ammunition  and  provisions  had  to  be  obtained. 
With  both  vessels  in  his  hands,  Arnold  found  it  necessary 
to  send  for  more  seamen,  and  help  manage  one  of  them  him 
self  meanwhile.  King  George's  trim  sloop,  renamed  the 
Enterprise,  and  two  of  his  large  bateaux  were  fully 
armed  with  cannon  and  swivels,  and  all  the  navy  pre 
pared  to  sweep  the  lake  as  soon  as  men  should  arrive. 
Wheel-carriages  to  transport  the  cannon  eastward  began  to 
be  made,  and  *a  messenger  went  down  to  Albany  for  more 
of  them.  Specifications  were  issued  for  two  big,  flat- 
bottomed  boats  of  four-inch  oak  to  convey  the  heaviest 
pieces  across  Lake  George.  Finally,  a  long  list  of  requisi 
tions  for  the  summer  was  made  out  and  forwarded  to  New 
York.  Everything  seemed  to  be  included.  Twelve  hun 
dred  men,  counting  the  Massachusetts  regiment  as  four 
hundred  of  them,  should  be  sent  up,  with  twenty-five 
ship  carpenters  and  twenty-five  house  carpenters;  hatch- 

30  §  4  Force,  II.,  840,  841  (Note  29). 


Calm  Preparations  165 

ets,  axes,  spades,  hoes,  and  tents  were  specified;  and 
finally  Arnold  proved  the  closeness  of  his  calculations  by 
asking  for  '  three  seines,  thirty  fathoms  long,  capped 
twelve  feet,  and  arms  six  feet  deep,  made  of  large  twine, 
the  meshes  one  and  a  half  inches  wide,  which  will  prob 
ably  supply  the  Army  with  fish,  as  they  are  plenty  and 
good.'  31 

At  this  point,  affairs  at  the  lakes  appeared  to  have 
worked  themselves  out  for  awhile.  Seemingly  the  forces 
were  balanced. 

In  reality,  this  was  not  the  case.  Events  had  not 
ended  but  merely  begun.  The  need  of  heavy  arms  at 
Cambridge,  tripping  off  a  mechanism  of  circumstances, 
had  moved  still  larger  and  more  complicated  trains.  Get- 
ing  the  forts  meant  a  great  deal  more.  The  most  surpris 
ing  embodiment  of  enterprise,  daring,  and  force,  of  self-will, 
unscrupulousness,  and  ambition  to  be  found  in  the  Revo 
lutionary  War,  had  been  set  on  a  conspicuous  pinion,  and 
the  lever  that  planted  Arnold  upon  the  pass  between 
Canada  and  the  Colonies,  had  caught  him  at  the  same 
time  in  a  dizzy  maze  of  clockwork.  The  road  north  had 
been  cleared;  and,  in  doing  that,  the  events  that  favored 
Adams's  plan  so  remarkably  had  opened  the  way  for  many 
other  events.  Unexpected  consequences  were  bound  to 
follow. 

But  naturally  all  this  was  not  seen  at  the  time. 
People  rejoiced  in  the  surprising  series  of  triumphs 
without  looking  very  far  in  advance;  and  most  of 
them  gratefully  echoed  what  some  of  them  cried:  'The 
Lord  is  a  Man  of  War;  let  Salvation  be  ascribed  to  the 
Lord!'  32 


3 1  §  Arnold,  Regt.  Mem.  Book.  Id.  to  Mass.  Com.  Safety,  May  10,  23  26 
1775:  4 /orce.  II.,  645,  694,  714.  Id.  to  Albany  Com.,  May  22,  1775-  ib  8™ 
Essex  Gazette,  June  i,  22,  I775.  B.  Deane  to  S.  Deane,  June  i  z 775:' Note  28 
Arnold  to  N.  Y.  Cong.,  May  29,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  847. 

3  2  Essex  Gazette,  June  i,  1775. 


VI 
IN  SELF-DEFENCE 

WHEN  the  second  Continental  Congress  came  to  order 
in  Independence  Hall,  the  tenth  of  May,  its  mem 
bers  little  suspected  to  what  a  hazard  they  had  been 
committed  that  very  morning  on  the  shore  of  Lake 
Champlain.  In  the  evening  of  the  seventeenth,  John 
Brown,  Esquire,  of  Pittsfield,  arrived  in  Philadelphia  from 
the  northward,  tired,  travel-stained,  and  exultant;  and 
the  next  day,  introduced  on  the  floor  of  Congress,  he  told 
what  stirring  scenes  had  lately  been  witnessed  by  lake 
and  forest.  'Nor  have  we  yet  learned  to  rejoice  at  a 
Victory  over  Englishmen! '  exclaimed  Congress  two 
months  later;  but  here  was  a  bloodless  triumph,  a  con 
quest  without  a  stain.  A  thrill  of  satisfaction  quivered 
from  heart  to  heart;  and,  as  that  quieted,  it  left  behind  no 
pang  of  troublesome  accountability.  For  in  what  way 
had  any  Colonial  authorities  been  involved  ?  ' 

New  York  could  prove  an  alibi.  On  the  first  day  of 
May,  Halsey  and  Stephens  had  been  sent  over  to  Albany 
by  Mott  and  his  associates;  and,  two  days  after,  a  letter 
went  down  the  river  from  that  place,  informing  the  New 
York  Committee  of  Safety  that  men  on  their  way  to  at 
tack  Ticonderoga  had  asked  for  supplies,  and  requesting 
advice.  Later,  applications  for  aid  came  from  Ticonder 
oga,  and  Colonel  Philip  Schuyler  carried  to  Manhattan 
another  petition  for  instructions.  But,  up  to  May  the 

»  §  Journ.  Cong.,  May  10,  18,  July  8,  1775-  Brown's  account:  4  Force,  II.,  623. 

1 66 


No  Official  Responsibility  167 

twelfth,  no  answer  arrived  ;  and,  '  unacquainted  with  the 
sentiments  '  of  the  Colony,  the  cautious  traders  at  Albany 
'declined  interfering.12 

Connecticut,  in  the  light  of  what  reached  the  public 
later,  could  hardly  escape  responsibility;  but  the  share  of 
certain  leading  citizens  in  the  expedition  remained  as  yet 
a  secret.  When  the  news  of  the  fall  of  Ticonderoga 
arrived  at  Hartford,  the  Committee  of  Correspondence 
promptly  urged  Albany  to  give  its  captors  aid,  although 
it  considered  the  chance  of  immediate  action  there 
'uncertain';  but  it  would  have  been  difficult  for  the 
British  government  to  prove  even  this  after- the-fact 
participation.3 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Connecticut  Assembly,  appar 
ently  almost  as  much  in  the  dark  as  King  George,  passed 
a  resolution  snowy- white:  'Whereas  several  inhabitants 
of  the  Northern  Colonies,  residing  in  the  vicinity  of 
Ticonderoga,  immediately  exposed  to  incursions  [from  the 
Province  of  Quebec],  impelled  by  a  just  regard  for  the 
defence  and  preservation  of  themselves  and  their  country 
men  from  such  imminent  dangers  and  calamities,  have 
taken  possession  of  that  post  and  of  Crown  Point,  .  .  .  and 
have  also  taken  into  their  custody  a  number  of  officers  and 
soldiers  who  were  holding  and  keeping  said  Posts, 
and  of  their  own  motion  have  sent  them  into  this  Colony; 
and  as  this  Colony  has  no  command  of  said  Posts,  now  in 
possession  of  people  of  several  Colonies,  it  is  impracticable 
for  said  officers  and  soldiers  to  return  to  said  posts, '  there 
fore  a  committee  should  be  appointed  to  provide  for  the 
former  and  help  the  latter  find  work.  In  short,  Con 
necticut  appeared  on  the  scene  as  an  innocent  bystander, 


2  §  Mott,  Journal:  Conn.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  I.,  p.  165.  Alb.  Com. to  N.  Y.  Com. 
May  12,  1775:  4  Force,  II,  605.    Answers,  however,  appear  to  have  been  sent 
but,  as  the  N.  Y.  Com.  did  not  feel  authorized  to  advise,  it  is  hard  to  see  what 
they  contained  (N.  Y.  Com.  to  Cont.  Cong.,  May  15,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  605). 

3  §  Conn.  Com.  Corres.  to  Mass.  Cong.,  May  16,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  618. 


1 68  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

concerned  only — and  that  merely  at  'the  dictates  of 
humanity" — in  behalf  of  certain  uninvited  guests,  found 
in  straitened  arcomstances.  * 

Massachusetts,  already  officially  declared  a  rebel,  had 
not  hesitated  to  act  emphatically  and  boldly  through  her 
Committee  of  Safety.  But  no  explanation  of  the  plan  had 
been  made  to  the  Provincial  Congress,*  and  no  soldier  bore 
a  musket  at  Crown  Point  or  Ticonderoga  in  the  name  of 


the  Colony.  Arnold  was  there:  but  he  acted  only  as  a 
volunteer,  not  under  the  terms  of  his  commission  from 
Massachusetts,  for  no  one  acknowledged  his  authority. 
It  was  the  leader  of  the  Bennington  Mob  who  thundered 
forth  a  summons  to  the  British  commander.  Delaplace 

-i-e.  EL.  57=- 
Mass.  Com.  Safetj  to  JLrnc^d,  May  aB,  1775:  4  Force,  H.,  726. 


Congress  Determined  to  Keep  Clear     169 

himself  stated  that  he  surrendered  to  'Ethan  AHyn.'* 
Seth  Warner,  another  Green  Mountain  Boy,  seized  Crown 
Point;  and  Amos  Callender,  a  third,  took  possession  of 
Fort  George.  In  the  raid  on  St.  Johns,  of  course,  Arnold 
acted  officially;  but  that  was  another  affair,  and  the  news 
of  it  did  not  arrive  until  after  the  policy  of  the  United 
Colonies  had  been  formulated. 

Silas  Deane's  nickname  in  the  new  Congress — Ticon- 
deroga  Deane — hinted  not  only  that  he  possessed  some 
information  about  the  origin  of  that  affair,  but  that  many 
of  the  body  gradual!}*  shared  his  knowledge.  Samuel 
Adams  and  John  Hancock,  persons  of  considerable  prom 
inence  in  the  assembly,  had  arrived  at  Hartford  just 
after  the  Connecticut  expedition  got  under  way,  and  most 
have  talWJ  with  leading  patriots  there,  John  Adams y 
another  chief,  wrote  Joseph  Palmer  a  few  days  later  that 
'  certain  military  movements  of  great  importance '  had 
been  set  on  foot  '  with  the  utmost  secrecy '  in  Connecticut, 
which  he  *  dared  not  explain.'7 

But  all  this — even  had  it  been  publicly  known — amount 
ed  to  nothing.  It  was  not  only  after-the-fact,  but  entirely 
personal.  The  Congress  had  not  even  been  in  session. 
Deane,  oppressed  by  what  he  termed  the  '  unhappy  and 
erroneous  '  reputation  of  a  schemer,*  sought  consolation  for 
so  grievous  a  wrong  in  the  bosom  of  his  family;  and  the 
Delegates,  as  a  body,  not  cniy  felt  their  withers  un wrong 
as  yet,  but  resolutely  determined  to  keep  clear  in  the 
sequel  of  any  charge  that  hostilities  had  been  undertaken 
in  the  lake  region  by  the  United  Colonies. 

The  very  day,  therefore,  that  news  of  the  capture  of 
Ticonderoga  arrived,  they  resolved  that,  whereas  there 


«  Memorial :  Conn.  Arch  .  Rev.  War..  L,  DOCL  405. 

•  §  S    Deane  to   Mrs.  D..  June    iS,    177* :    Ctmm.  Hat.  Soe.  CoIL,  1L,  fL 
2c<5.    Wells,  Adams,  II..  p.  208,    Haacocfc  to  Com.  Safctg.  Apr.  j6, 177;  =.4  ^"«g» 

II_  401,  Chitteaden.  T:..  p.  29.     J.  Adams,  May  2,  1773 :  Trtrmnul,  Origin,  p.  14. 
»  S.  D.  to  Mrs,  D. :  Note  7. 


1 70  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

was  'indubitable  evidence'  that  a  design  had  been  formed 
by  the  British  Ministry  *  of  making  a  cruel  invasion  from 
the  province  of  Quebec '  upon  the  Colonies,  for  the  pur 
pose  of  destroying  the  lives  and  liberties  of  the  people, 
and  some  steps  had  '  actually  been  taken  to  carry  the  said 
design  into  execution';  and  whereas,  according  to  the 
phraseology  adopted  by  Connecticut,  people  in  the 
vicinity  of  '  Ticonderogo '  had  '  taken  possession  of  that 
post,  in  which  was  lodged  a  quantity  of  cannon  and 
military  stores,  that  would  certainly  have  been  used  in  the 
intended  invasion  ' ;  therefore  the  Congress — fearing  Carle- 
ton  would  sail  up  the  lake  and  recapture  these  useful 
articles — earnestly  advised  the  '  committees  of  the  cities 
and  counties  of  New  York  and  Albany,  immediately  to 
cause  the  said  cannon  and  stores  to  be  removed  from 
Ticonderogo  to  the  south  end  of  I^ake  George,'  where  a 
strong  post  would  be  established.9 

The  property  of  the  King  was  not,  however,  to  be 
stolen.  Every  article  should  be  inventoried,  and  restitu 
tion  should  be  made  when  '  consistent  with  the  overrul 
ing  law  of  self-preservation.'  Should  more  troops  than 
she  could  furnish  be  needed  to  hold  the  post  on  I^ake 
George,  New  York  might  apply  for  them  to  the  New  Eng 
land  Colonies.  Within  the  rather  broad  lines  of  what  the 
Friends  of  Liberty,  British  and  American  alike,  regarded 
as  constitutional  resistance  to  oppression,  lay  room — it 
was  thought — for  all  this.  Where,  then,  could  rebellion 
be  found?  *  We  took  such  Measures  as  Prudence  dictated, 
as  Necessity  will  justify':  thus  Congress  explained  the 
matter  to  the  inhabitants  of  Great  Britain.10 

Accordingly,  the  New  York  Provincial  Congress  notified 
Connecticut  six  days  later  that,  '  in  pursuance  of  the 


9  § Tourn.  Cong.,   May  18,   1775.     Dyer  and  Sherman  to  Williams,  May 
1775:  Hist.  Mag.,  Jan.,  1862,  p.  22. 

10  §  Journ.  of  Cong.,  May  18  ;  July  8,  1775. 


The  Country  Anxious  171 

directions  '  contained  in  this  resolution,  orders  had  been 
given  to  remove  the  cannon  and  stores  from  Ticonderoga 
to  the  south  end  of  Lake  George,  and  a  committee  had 
been  appointed  as  '  superintendents  of  this  business '  ; 
while  Massachusetts,  with  an  eye  still  on  the  original  pur 
pose  of  the  expedition,  informed  New  York  that  Arnold 
had  taken  steps  by  her  order  to  bring  the  cannon  to 
Cambridge,  but  *  most  solemnly '  added  that,  so  far  from 
desiring  to  usurp  the  jurisdiction  of  a  sister  Colony,  she 
would  hold  them  subject  to  orders  from  the  Continental 
Congress.  Wherever  the  cannon  should  lodge,  then,  the 
forts  were  to  be  practically,  if  not  literally,  abandoned.  It 
was  in  this  light  that  the  public  understood  the  intention 
of  Congress.  Private  individuals  had  taken  a  measure  of 
self-defence  ;  Congress  would  safeguard  the  interests  of 
both  people  and  Crown  but  do  nothing  that  could  even 
look  aggressive;  New  York  would  act  as  a  property- 
clerk,  Massachusetts  as  an  honest  borrower;  and  so  the 
whole  affair  would  end.11 

But  end  so,  it  could  not.  Whatever  Congress  might  be 
aiming  at  and  expecting,  the  people  in  general  noted  the 
signs  of  the  times  with  a  deep  anxiety.  Passing  the 
Quebec  Act  had  not  proved,  as  Gurdon  Saltonstall  had 
predicted,  '  the  finishing  stroke  for  the  Ministry.'  In 
spite  of  all  that  America's  friends  in  England  could 
accomplish,  the  government  seemed  more  determined  than 
ever.  Instead  of  dreading,  it  appeared  to  be  seeking,  a 
contest  with  its  Colonies;  and  the  Colonies  presented  no 
less  resolute  a  front.  '  Is  it  possible,'  cried  a  Rhode 
Island  Tory  aloud,  as  did  thousands  in  their  hearts,  '  Is  it 
possible  that  a  people  without  arms,  ammunition,  money, 
or  navy  should  dare  to  brave  a  nation,  dreaded  and  re- 

11  §  N.  Y.  Cong,  to  Conn.,  May  24,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  1248.  Mass.  Cong  to 
N  Y.  Cong.,  May  26,  1775:  ib.,  715.  Understanding:  see,  e.g.,  the  letter  of  the 
Albany  Com.  to  N.  Y.  Cong.,  May  26,  1775  (ib.,  712);  Mass.  Cong,  to  N.  H.  Cong., 
May  29,  1775,  (ib.,  737);  and  all  the  evidences  of  public  agitation  which  will  soon 
appear. 


172   Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

spected  by  all  the  powers  on  earth  ?  '  But  he  cried  in  vain.1* 
Men  argued  back  that  the  British  army,  made  up  of 
refuse  and  poorly  trained,  was  not  to  be  feared.  America 
began  preparations  for  war.  Citizens  of  New  Hampshire 
attacked  Castle  William  and  Mary  in  Portsmouth  harbor, 
seized  one  hundred  barrels  of  powder,  and  were  given 
public  thanks.  Massachusetts  already  stood  under  arms. 
Connecticut  organized  a  strong  militia,  offered  bounties 
for  saltpetre,  sulphur,  firearms,  and  gun-locks;  and  agreed 
to  purchase  for  some  time  to  come  all  the  arms  turned  out 
in  the  Colony.  New  York  moved  in  the  same  direction. ia 
Philadelphia,  the  seat  of  Congress,  overflowed  with 
lusty  fellows  dressed  in  short  jackets  of  dark  brown, 
white  vests  and  breeches,  white  stockings,  half-boots  and 
black  knee-garters,  with  broad  white  straps — crossed 
before  and  behind — supporting  a  cartouch  box  and  a 
bayonet  sheath,  and  with  colored  facings  on  their  jackets 
to  indicate  their  battalions.  Topped  off  with  small  hats, 
on  which  a  '  tail'  of  deer's  fur,  six  or  eight  inches  high, 
grew  out  of  a  red,  black,  or  white  rosette,  thirty  companies 
of  such  militia  were  exercising  in  arms  there  every  morn 
ing  and  evening.  '  They  have  made  a  most  surprising 
progress,'  wrote  Silas  Deane;  and  the  word  Liberty  in 
white  on  their  large  cartouch  boxes,  explained  why  they 
turned  out  so  eagerly  for  their  drill.  Everywhere  officers 
and  men  could  be  seen  falling  into  line.  In  fact,  the 
Grand  Continental  Congress,  two  days  after  choosing 
John  Hancock  President,  formally  ordered  that  the  whole 
country  '  be  immediately  put  into  a  state  of  defence.'  14 
And  not  only  was  there  preparation  for  war;  there  was 


12  §  Saltonstall  to  S.  Deane,  Aug.  29,  1774:  Conn.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  II.,  p.  143. 
Tory:  Newport  letter  in  N.  E).  Chron.,  Jan.  10,  1775. 

13  §  N.  E.  Chron.,  Jan.  17,  1775,   gave  a  long  study  of  the  British  army. 
Portsmouth:  Belknap,   N.  H.,  II.,  p.  376;   N.  H.  Cong.  (4  Force,  II.,  652,  653). 
Conn.:  Johnston,  Record,  p.  35  ;  J.  Trumbull,  Jr.,  to  his  brother,  May  29,  1775 
(4  Force,  II.,  728).    N.  Y.  Cong.,  June  9,  1775:  ib.,  1247. 

«<  Pa. :  S.  Deane  to  Mrs.  D.,  June  3,  1775  (Conn.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  II.,  p.  253)* 
Journ.  Cong.,  May  26. 


Fresh  Reasons  to  Fear  Canada          173 

war  itself.  Already  American  soil  had  been  planted  with 
the  red  seed  of  liberty.  Already  the  name  of  the  Great 
Jehovah  had  been  invoked— and  not  in  vain— by  Colonials 
in  arms.  Already  the  crimson  shadow  of  Bunker  Hill  lay 
athwart  the  path  of  America.  So  far  the  battles  had  been 
small,  no  doubt;  but  they  portended  greater  ones.  The 
sky  was  growing  black;  all  round  the  horizon  there  were 
rumblings;  and  now  the  public  ear,  awakened  by  the 
Quebec  Act  and  turning  to  the  north,  heard  from  that 
quarter  an  awful 
peal.  'Danger  and 
war  are  become 
pleasing,'  cried  the 
fiery  Dr.  Warren  15; 

but  very  few  had  reached  that  opinion.     It  was  an  anx 
ious    time,  and  anxiety  deepened  fast  into  alarm. 

The  fear  of  what  Quebec  might  do  was  indeed  profound. 
Great  Britain  perhaps  did  not  intend  to  give  back  the 
province  to  its  ancient  masters,  but  that  was  no  consolation, 
thought  many.  In  fact,  great  as  the  dread  inspired  by 
French  designs  and  French  raids  had  been,  now — wrote 
Joseph  Hawley  to  Dr.  Warren— the  Colonials  had  '  more 
to  fear  from  that  quarter  than  if  France  alone  held 
Canada.'  '  While  England  has  a  firm  hold  of  this 
Country,'  wrote  Mr.  Hey,  the  Chief-Justice  of  Quebec, 
'her  cause  with  the  Colonies  can  never  be  desperate  tho' 
she  should  not  have  an  inch  of  Ground  in  her  possession 
in  any  one  of  them,  from  this  country  they  are  more 
accessible,  I  mean  the  N.  England  People,  (Paradoxical  as 
it  may  seem),  than  even  from  Boston  itself.'  The  Colonials 
knew  nothing  of  this  letter,  but  they  had  eyes  to  see  the 
grounds  of  Hey's  opinion;  and,  as  their  comments  on  the 
Quebec  Act  showed,  they  could  reason.  Doubtless  many 
of  the  terrors  excited  by  that  law  were  chargeable,  as 

15  Warren  to  A.  I/ee,  May,  16,1775:  Frothinghara,  Warren,  p.  488. 


174  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

John  Adams  once  remarked,  to  a  '  lively  fancy  ' ;  but  others 
were  not.  The  Tories  had  often  threatened  that  '  Canadi 
ans  in  British  pay  '  would  some  day  'fall  upon  our  rear'; 
and  now,  in  addition  to  inferences,  threats,  and  the 
warnings  from  English  friends,  there  were  facts;  the  facts 
had  tongues;  and  the  tongues  were  the  tongues  of  bells.16 

'Last  night  a  Commission  passed  the  Great  Seal,  consti 
tuting  and  appointing  Guy  Carleton,  Ksquire,  Captain 
General  and  Governor  in  and  over  the  province  of  Quebec, 
with  all  its  dependencies,  with  greater  powers  than  in  the 
former  commission,  which  is  superseded ' :  this  item  of 
news  had  come  over  in  a  London  letter  of  January  the 
second.  Why  this  increase  of  powers  ?  17 

Two  weeks  before  the  capture  of  Ticonderoga  the 
amended  commission  had  a  public  reading  at  Quebec, 
and  the  news  of  these  two  events  traversed  the  Colonies 
together.  The  matter  grew  clearer  now:  'Wee  do  here 
by  give  and  grant  unto  you  Guy  Carleton  by  yourself  or 
your  Captains  and  Commanders  by  you  to  be  Authorized 
full  power  and  authority  to  levy  arm  muster  command 
and  employ  all  persons  whatsoever  residing  within  our 
said  province  and  ...  to  transport  such  fforces  to  any  of 
our  Plantations  in  America  if  Necessity  shall  require  for 
the  defence  of  the  same  against  the  Invasion  or  attempts 
of  any  of  our  Enemies  Pirates  or  Rebels  and  such  Enemies 
Pirates  and  Rebels  if  there  shall  be  occasion  to  pursue  and 
prosecute  in  or  out  of  the  Limits  of  our  said  provinces.'  18 

'Pirates,'  'Rebels,' — these  were  merely  other  terms  for 
bayonets  and  halters;  'pursue,'  'transport'  signified  an 
attack  from  Canada  on  the  weakest  side  of  the  Colonies, 
the  dreaded  stab  in  the  back;  and  as  for  the  'fforces,' 

16  §  Hawley;  June,  9,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  944.     Designs:  Smyth,  Pr6cis,  p. 
107.     Hey  to  I^ord  Chancellor,  Aug.  28,  1775:  Pub.  Rec.   Off.,  Colon.  Corres., 

§uebec,  12,  p.  365.       '  Novanglus  '   (J.  Adams) :  Essex  Gazette,    Feb.  28,  1775. 
hreats:  Boston  Evening  Post,  Feb.  6,  1775. 

1 7  Mass.  Gazette,  Mar.  27,  1775. 

i  s  §  Quebec  letter  in  Essex  Gazette,  May  25,  1775  (see  also  4  Force,  II.,  425). 
Can.  Arch.,  '  Commissions  '  (also  in  4  Force,  II.,  403). 


Dread  of  the  Indians  175 

could  there  be  any  question  what  that  word  meant  ? 
*  There  is  gone  down  to  Sheerness  78,000  guns,  and  bayo 
nets,  to  be  sent  to  America,  to  be  put  into  the  hands  of  the 
Roman  Catholicks  and  the  Canadians,'  wrote  a  friend 
from  London.19  John  Brown  got  hold  of  something 
important  while  in  Canada.  Two  officers  of  the  26th 
Regiment  applied  to  a  couple  of  Indians — one  of  them  a 
head  warrior  of  the  Caughnawaga  tribe — to  go  out  with 
them  for  a  hunt  toward  the  south  and  east.  They  went; 
and  the  officers  pressed  on  and  on  until  they  reached 
Newbury,  on  the  Connecticut  River.  Questioned  here, 
the  leaders  repeated  the  story  of  a  hunt. 

*  That  cannot  be,'  people  answered,  'for  no  hunters  use 
bright- barrelled  guns.' 

Back  in  the  woods,  the  Indian  warrior  insisted  upon, 
knowing  the  purpose  of  the  trip. 

'It  is  to  find  a  passage  for  an  army,'  the  officers  finally 
admitted. 

*  Where  will  you  get  the  army  ?  '  inquired  the  Indian. 
'  In  Canada,'  they  replied.20 

May  the  twenty-third,  a  committee  of  the  Connecticut 
Assembly  reported  having  '  a  personal  conference  with  Mr. 
Price,  an  eminent  English  merchant  of  Montreal,'  then  at 
New  York:  'He  informs  us,  that  all  the  French  officers  of 
Canada  are  now  in  actual  pay  under  General  Carlton.' 
An  intercepted  letter  from  Malcolm  Fraser  of  Quebec  to 
friends  in  New  England  called  attention  to  the  Governor's 
almost  unlimited  powers,  and  repeated  that  he  was  gather 
ing  troops.  Indeed,  a  party  of  Canadian  soldiers  actually 
arrived  at  St.  Johns  and  attacked  American  scouts."1 

1  9  Essex  Gazette,  May  12,  1775.  '78,000,'  perhaps  a  misprint  for  18,000. 

20  §  Brown's  report:  Phila.  letter  in  Essex  Gazette,  June  8,  1775  ;  Brown  to 
S.  Adams,  Mar.  zg,  1775  (Mass.  Arch.,  Vol.  193,  p.  41);  Letter  in  N.  H.  Prov. 
Papers,  VII.,  p.  525. 

21  §  Price:  Journ.  Mass.  Cong.,  p.  707.    Fraser:  Essex  Gazette,  June  8,  1775 
(Phila.  letter).     McCoy  (probably  it  should  be  McKay):  Verreau  (Sanguinet), 
Invasion,  p.  33;    Easton  to  Mass.  Cong.,  June  6,  1775:  (Journ.  Mass.  Cong.,  p. 
714)  ;  proclamation  of  Allen  and  Easton,  June  4,  1775'  (ib.,  p.  715). 


176  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

And  this  was  not  all.  Something  worse  was  to  be 
expected,— worse  than  '  the  ministerial  troops,  those  sons 
of  violence,'  worse  than  hordes  of  Canadian  *  papists.' 

No  American  was  yet  aware  of  the  secret  instructions 
forwarded  by  General  Gage  at  this  time  to  Colonel  Guy 
Johnson,  the  Indian  Agent  in  central  New  York,  or  knew 
that  Lord  Dartmouth  had  the  savages  in  view  as  allies; 
but  certain  very  ominous  things  did  come  to  light.  Price 


A  PAGE  OF  GOVERNOR  TRUMBULL'S 
MEMORANDUM    BOOK 

declared  that  the  plan  of  campaign  was  to  engage  Indians 
as  well  as  Canadians.  Mr.  Ferris  of  the  New  Hampshire 
Grants,  returning  from  Montreal,  reported  the  same  at 
Crown  Point;  and  not  only  that,  but  a  fact  even  more 


Dread  of  the  Indians  177 

terrible.  If  any  human  being  had  the  reputation  in  the 
Colonies  of  a  fiend  incarnate,  he  was  St.  Luc  la  Corne, 
Superintendent  of  the  Canadian  Indians  under  the  French 
regime,  and  father-in-law  of  the  Major  Campbell  now  in 
charge  of  them.  He  was  '  the  villain,'  as  the  newspapers 
recalled,  '  who  let  loose  the  Indians  on  the  prisoners  at 
Fort  William  Henry,'  and  looked  on  while  the  savages, 
in  spite  of  a  solemn  agreement,  dragged  the  wounded 
English  from  their  huts,  and  scalped  every  one  of  them. 
This  was  the  devil  commissioned  to  raise  the  yelling 
minions  of  hell  now,  it  was  reported;  and  he  had  already 
shown  his  temper  by  advising  that  some  Canadians  in 
every  parish  be  immediately  executed,  should  the  habitants 
refuse  to  join  the  King's  troops.  '  Oh  George,  what 
tools  art  thou  obliged  to  make  use  of ! '  cried  the 
Colonials.22 

Very  different  this  northern  struggle  was  to  be  from  the 
campaign  now  going  on:  idle  redcoats  in  Boston,  sum 
moned  to  roll-call  four  times  a  day  to  keep  them  out  of 
mischief;  and  idle  patriots  across  the  Charles,  longing 
vainly  for  enemies  to  shoot  and  powder  to  shoot  them  with. 
It  meant  war,  and  war  the  most  dreadful.  The  red  fiends 
were  undoubtedly  gathering.  Timid  ears  already  im 
agined  faint  echoes  of  their  yells  in  the  forests.  Old  men 
retold  the  story  of  Hannah  Dustin,  Young  men  foresaw 
many  a  Jane  McCrea,  borne  past  with  tresses  dabbled  in 
blood.  Every  gust  of  the  north  wind  came  freighted 
with  terrors.  The  next  dawn  might  raise  the  curtain  on  a 
scene  of  death  and  desolation,  fire,  outrage,  murder,  and 
torture.  Yet  the  Congress  would  not  so  much  as  close  a 


22  §  G.  Johnson  to  Dartmouth,  Oct.  12,  1775:  Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Am.  and  W. 
Ind.,  Vol.  279,  p.  345.  Records  of  Ind.  Transactions  :  ib.,  Vol.  280,  p.  9.  Dart 
mouth  to  G.  Johnson,  July  24,  1775;  ib.,  Vol.  2™,  p.  247  (D.  refers  to  a  letter  of 
5th,  and  it  must  be  supposed  that  he  had  been  thinking  of  the  matter  for 
some  time  before  writing  that).  Price:  Note  21.  Ferris:  Easton  to  Mass.  Cong., 
June  6,  1775  (Journ.  Mass.  Cong.,  p.  7i4,.  L,a  Corne:  Essex  Gazette,  June  8, 
1775.  Parkman,  Montcalm,  I.,  p.  509. 

VOL    I. — 12. 


178  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

door,  to  keep  it  all  out.  The  Congress  ordered  Ticonder- 
oga  to  be  abandoned.23 

Naturally  those  on  the  ground  were  the  first  to  call  for 
action.  They  could  see  with  their  eyes  the  pass  by 
the  lakes;  and  besides  that,  realizing  most  fully  how  the 
lion  had  been  singed,  they  could  also  realize  most  keenly 
that  he  was  likely  to  spring. 

Ticonderoga  had  been  only  a  night  in  American  hands, 
when  Allen  exclaimed :  '  I  am  apprehensive  of  a  sudden 
and  quick  attack.  Pray  be  quick  to  our  relief,  and  send  us 
five  hundred  men  immediately — fail  not!  '  Scarcely  had 
Bulawagga  Mountain  ceased  echoing  back  the  cheers  at 
Crown  Point,  when  Warner  and  Sunderland  wrote  south: 
'We  suppose  Governor  Carleton  will  hear  what  we  have 
done,  before  this  comes  to  hand.  He  is  a  man-of-war, 
you  can  guess  what  measures  he  will  take.  We  determine 
to  fight  them  three  to  one,  but  he  can  bring  ten  to 
one,  and  more.'  On  the  next  day  the  Albany  Committee, 
torpid  as  it  had  seemed,  awoke  with  a  start.  It  was  now, 
they  realized,  an  '  alarming  crisis';  they  were  likely  to  be 
involved  in  'the  horrours  of  war  and  devastation';  and 
they  'earnestly'  called  upon  the  New  York  Committee 
for  advice.  Two  weeks  later,  Arnold  sent  a  warning  to 
the  Massachusetts  Committee  of  Safety:  *  I  was  equally 
surprised  and  Alarmed  this  Day  on  receiving  Advice,  (via 
Albany,)  that  the  Continental  Congress  had  recommended 
the  removing  all  the  Cannon  Stores  &c  at  Ticonderoga,  to 
Fort  George  &  Evacuating  Ticonderoga  intirely,  which 
being  the  Only  Key  of  this  Country  leaves  Our  very 
extiusive  Frontiers  open  to  the  ravages  of  the  enemy.' 
The  next  day  Easton,  then  among  his  neighbors  at 
Pittsfield,  sat  down  and  wrote  this  to  the  Massachusetts 
Congress:  'It  is  agreed,  on  all  hands,  the  fortress  must 


23  Crown  Point  does  not  seem  to  have  been  considered  of  special  value. 


The  Importance  of  Ticonderoga          179 

be  maintained,  as  it  is  of  infinite  importance  to  the  general 
cause.  I  have  no  doubt  but  very  violent  attempts  will 
soon  be  made  to  wrest  it  out  of  our  hands.'  24 

Joseph  Hawley,  *  the  Nestor  of  the  Massachusetts 
patriots,'  after  taking  some  time  for  thought,  expressed 
himself  no  less  emphatically  to  Dr.  Warren :  *  I  am  still 
in  agonies  for  the  greatest  possible  despatch  to  secure  that 
pass.  ...  If  Britain  should  regain  and  hold  that  place 
[Ticonderoga],  they  will  be  able  soon  to  harass  and  lay 
waste,  by  the  savages,  all  the  borders  of  New  England, 
eastwards  of  Hudson's  River  and  southeast  of  Lake 
Champlain  and  the  River  St.  Lawrence,  and  shortly,  by 
the  Lake  Champlain,  to  march  an  army  to  Hudson's 
River,  to  subdue  the  feeble  and  sluggish  efforts  of  the 
inhabitants  on  that  river,  and  so  to  connect  Montreal  and 
New  York;  and  then  New  England  will  be  wholly 
environed  by  sea  and  land, — east,  west,  north,  and  south. 
The  chain  of  the  colonies  will  be  entirely  and  irreparably 
broken;  the  whole  province  of  New  York  will  be  fully 
taken  into  the  interests  of  administration;  and  this  very 
pass  of  Ticonderoga  is  the  post  and  spot  where  all  this 
mischief  may  be  withstood  and  resisted;  but  if  that  is 


relinquished  or  taken  from  us,  desolation  must  come  in 
upon  us  like  a  flood.  I  am  bold  to  say,  (for  I  can 
maintain  it,)  that  the  General  Congress  would  have  not 


24  §  Allen  to  Albany  Com.,  May  n,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  606.  W.  and  S.  to 
Conn.,  May  12,  1775:  Dartmouth  .Mag.,  May,  1872.  Alb.  Com.  to  N.  Y.  Com., 
May  12,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  605.  Arnold  to  Mass.  Com.  Safety,  May  29,  1775: 
from  MS.  (also  in  Journ.  Mass.  Cong.,  p.  711).  Easton,  May,  30,  1775;  Journ. 
Mass.  Cong.,  p.  712. 


180  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

advised  to  so  destructive  a  measure,  if  they  had  recom 
mended  and  prescribed  that  our  whole  army,  which  now 
invests  Boston,  should  instantly  decamp,  and  march 
with  all  the  baggage  and  artillery  to  Worcester,  and 
suffer  Gage's  army  to  ravage  what  part  of  the  country 
they  pleased.  Good  God!  what  could  be  their  plan  ?  '  " 

Indeed,  as  Hawley  added,  the  vaunted  successes  on  the 
lakes  might  prove  a  curse  instead  of  a  blessing,  were 
the  fort  given  up:  'By  this  step  General  Carleton  is 
alarmed.  Whereas,  if  this  step  had  not  been  taken, 
his  proceedings  might  have  been  slow  and  with  some 
leisure.' 

Obviously,  the  Colonial  authorities  had  to  take  the 
matter  up.  'The  necessity  of  securing  and  maintaining 
the  posts  on  the  lakes,  for  the  defence  of  our  frontiers, 
becomes  daily  more  evident,'  wrote  Governor  Trumbull 
to  the  Congress  of  Massachusetts;  and  several  other  mes 
sages  of  like  tenor  followed  the  same  route.  It  is  an 
'  inexpressible  necessity  '  to  protect  the  settlements,  was 
the  response;  the  ground  which  it  is  proposed  to  give  up 
cost  '  immense  sums  of  money,  the  loss  of  many  lives,  and 
five  campaigns ' ;  and  as  for  depending  on  a  fort  at  the 
south  end  of  Lake  George,  three-fourths  of  the  raids 
would  pass  to  the  east  of  that  point,  and  never  be  heard 
of  till  the  torch  and  scalping-knife  had  done  their  work. 
Colonel  Henshaw  was  despatched  to  Hartford  expressly 
to  urge  these  points.26 

'You  will  doubtless  agree  with  us  in  sentiment,'  said 
Massachusetts  to  her  neighbor  on  the  north,  '  that  it  is 
a  matter  of  the  greatest  importance  that  'those  places 
remain  in  our  possession ';  and  New  Hampshire,  which 
had  already  voted  to  raise  troops  for  the  defence  of  the 

25  Nestor:  Morse,  J.  Adams,  p.  64.     Hawley,  June  9,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  944. 

26  §  Trumbull,   May  25,  1775:  Journ.  Mass.  Cong.,  p.  705.     Mass,  to  Trum 
bull,  ib.,  p   267  (a  detailed  comparison  of  the  advantages  of  Ti.  and  Ft.  Wm. 
Henry).    Henshaw:  4  Force,  II.,  722-724. 


Congress  Urged  to  Hold  the  Posts       181 

frontier  and  to  sell  the  border  towns  a  few  rounds  of  the 
King's  precious  powder,  responded  feelingly.  The  Con 
gress  of  New  York,  indeed,  seemed  lethargic;  but  it  wooed 
slumber  in  vain.  Not  only  the  Albany  Committee  assured 
it  again  that  the  British  were  preparing  to  retake  the 
posts,  which  would  '  introduce  our  enemies  into  the  very 
bowels  of  our  Country,'  but  the  authorities  of  Charlotte 
County  sent  down  a  sharp  official  note  of  alarm.27 

The  Philadelphia  newspaper  that  heralded  John 
Brown's  arrival  with  his  tidings  of  triumph,  added  some 
thing  to  its  announcement:  '  We  trust  the  wisdom  of  the 
Grand  Continental  Congress  will  take  effectual  measures  ' 
to  secure  the  pass.  This  was  the  harbinger  of  a  storm; 
and  before  long  the  flood  of  general  excitement  was  beat 
ing  strong  against  the  doors  of  Independence  Hall.28 

Arnold,  writing  most  urgently,  not  only  dwelt  upon 
the  necessity  of  holding  Ticonderoga,  as  the  key  of  the 
region,  but  shrewdly  pointed  out  that,  should  the  position 
be  given  up,  the  ravages  of  the  enemy  and  the  continual 
alarms  would  'probably  cost  more  than  the  expense  of 
repairing  and  garrisoning  it.'  Ethan  Allen  told  how  the 
people  of  the  Grants  had  'put  their  lives  into  the  hands  of 
their  Governments,  and  made  those  valuable  acquisitions ' 
for  the  good  of  the  Colonies,  and  how,  if  left  exposed  now 
to  the  wrath  of  Carleton,  they  would  be,  '  of  all  men,  the 
most  consummately  miserable.'  New  Hampshire,  at  the 
suggestion  of  Massachusetts,  despatched  a  '  decent  and 
respectful'  address  to  Congress:  she  'would  not  presume 
to  complain  or  dictate,  but  most  humbly  to  suggest'  the 
retention  of  the  posts.  '  May  it  please  your  Honours,'  said 
Massachusetts  herself,  '  permit  us  to  observe,  that  in  our 

27  §  Mass.  Cong,  to  N.  H.  Cong.,  May  2Q  ;  June  i,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  737,  876. 
N.  H. :  Journ    Mass.  Cong.,  p.  307  ;  4  Force,  II.,  652,  653,  895.     (See  N.  H   Com. 

TfnroJ  T pulllvan  and  Langdon,  july  8>  1?7Sj  in  j  Bartlett  Letters.)  Albany  : 
4  .borce,  II  ,  7i2.  Charlotte  Co.:  ib.,  1124. 

28  Phila.  Journ. :  4  Force,  II.,  623. 


182    Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

opinion  nothing  can  be  more  obvious  than  the  infinite 
importance '  of  maintaining,  holding,  and  effectually 
securing  Ticonderoga  or  some  spot  near  the  southwest 
end  of  Lake  Champlain;  and  her  views  were  made  clear 
not  only  once  but  repeatedly.  Connecticut  sent  vigorous 
despatches  to  Philadelphia,  *  setting  forth  the  advantage 
of  maintaining  a  post '  there,  and  suggesting  a  reconsidera 
tion  of  the  attitude  taken.  Needless  to  add,  a  series  of 
personal  letters  from  all  quarters  poured  in  upon  Congress 
and  the  individual  members  of  that  body.  The  total 
pressure  amounted  to  something  tremendous.  In  a  little 
while,  Congress  found  itself '  much  more  convinced,'  than 
it  had  been,  of  the  importance  of  Ticonderoga,  and,  en 
couraged  by  Arnold's  bold  strokes,  braced  itself  for 
action.29 

Without  waiting  for  that,  however,  the  Colonies  them 
selves  took  steps.  Albany,  which  lay  directly  in  the 
British  line  of  march,  and,  since  the  demolition  of  Fort 
Edward,  had  felt  peculiarly  exposed,  set  about  raising 
four  companies.  On  the  twenty-fifth  of  May,  the  New 
York  Congress,  acting  on  the  hint  from  Philadelphia, 
invited  Connecticut  to  send  forces  to  the  lake.  We  have 
troops  ready  and  to  spare,  was  the  spirit  of  Governor 
Trumbull.  Already  four  hundred  men  had  been  ordered 
north  in  consequence  of  Arnold's  urgency,  and  now  it 
was  resolved  to  bring  the  number  up  to  one  thousand, 
with  Colonel  Benjamin  Hinman  to  command  them, — every 
man  provided  with  a  pound  of  that  scarce  article,  gun 
powder,  and  three  pounds  of  something  hardly  more 
plentiful,  bullets;  while  New  York  undertook  to  provision 

29  §  Arnold  to  Cont.  Cong.,  May  29,  1775  (4  Force,  II.,  734).  Allen  to  Cont 
Cong.,  May  29,  1775:  ib.,  732.  Mass.  Cong,  to  N.  H.  Ccng.,  May  29, 1775:  ib.,  737- 
N.  H.  Cong,  to  Cont.  Cong.,  June  2,  1775:  ib.,  895.  Mass.  :  Journ.  Mass.  Cong.- 
pp.  265,  321,  720  ;  4  Force,  II.,  721.  Conn,  to  Mass.  Cong.,  May  27,  1775:  4  Force' 
II.,  719.  Williams  to  Dyer,  May  25,  1775:  Kmmet  Coll.  Gilleland  to  Cont- 
Cong. :  4  Force,  II.,  731.  Many  other  personal  letters  must  have  been  written. 
Convinced,  etc. :  Dyer  and  Sherman  to  Williams,  May  31,  1775  (Hist.  Mag.,  Jan., 
1862,  p.  22). 


The  Colonies  Act  183 

these  Connecticut  men  until  forces  of  her  own  should  take 
their  place.  June  the  first,  the  Provincial  Congress  of 
New  York  wrote  the  distressed  Committee  at  Albany: 
*  You  will  find  that  one  thousand  [Connecticut]  men  are 
already  on  their  way  to  the  frontier  country  ' ;  and  in  due 
time  Mr.  Swart  of  the  Congress  heard  Arnold  and 
Hinman  read  each  other's  instructions  at  Ticonderoga.30 

Unfortunately,  a  hard  question  of  precedence  now  arose. 
Henshaw  had  written  from  Hartford  that  the  leader  of  the 
Connecticut  force  was  to  assume  control;  but  that  was 
unofficial,  and  Hinman's  orders  were  only  to  're-enforce 
the  garrisons  and  command  his  regiment.'  In  Arnold's 
eyes,  this  did  not  supersede  the  authority  which  he  had 
been  wielding  for  some  time  with  the  approval  of 
Massachusetts.  Indeed,  the  Congress  of  that  Colony  had 
just  written  him  that  Hinman  was  to  'reinforce'  the 
army;  and  finally  Hinman  concluded,  though  unwill 
ingly,31  to  accept  the  second  place.  This  appeared  to 
settle  everything,  but  in  reality  did  precisely  the  opposite  ; 
and  soon  the  necessity  of  decided  action  on  the  part  of 
Congress  became  more  imperative  than  before. 

Never  was  mortal  wight  more  unlucky  than  Arnold  in 
this  whole  campaign.  Information  that  he  himself  supplied 
had  proved  a  mine  under  his  feet.  It  had  been  his 
mission  to  represent  authority  before  men  trained  to 
despise  all  rule  save  their  own,  discipline  where  discipline 
was  unknown,  order  and  property  when  triumph  had 
presented  the  flowing  bowl  to  habitual — unconvention- 
ality.  Without  funds,  for  doubtless  the  greater  part  of 
his  meagre  one  hundred  pounds  was  divided  among  his 

30  §  Fort  E)dward:  Mass.  Com.  to  N.  Y.  Cong.,  July  3,  1775  (Journ.  Mass 
Cong.,  p.  720).    Albany  Cos. :  4  Force,  II.,  724  (Henshaw).    N.  Y.  Cong,  to  Conn 
May  24,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  1248.    Trumbull  to  N.  Y.  Cong.,  May  27,  20,  1775-  ib  ' 
846,  847.    N.  Y.  Cong,  to  Alb.  Com.,  June  i,  i775 :  ib.,  1269.    Swart  and  Hinman's 
orders:  ib.,  1048 (Stringer). 

31  §  Stringer:  Note  30.    Henshaw:  4  Force,  II.,  724.     Arnold,  Regt.  Mem. 
Book.     Mass.  Cong,  to  Arnold,  June  i,  1775:  4  Force,  II..  1382.    Mott  to  Trum 
bull,  July  6,  1775:  ib.,  1592. 


184  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

recruiting  officers,  he  had  been  obliged  to  compete  for  a 
following  among  very  poor  men  against  the  full  purse  of 
his  rivals.  Fidelity  to  the  interests  of  the  United  Colonies 
had  roused  against  him  those  who  belonged  to  no  Colony 
and  hated  one  of  them.  Circumstances  had  compelled 
him  to  excite  the  hostility  of  a  strong  combination  of  pur 
poses  and  interests,  and  out  of  the  ill  desert  of  another 
man,  Easton,  to  forge  new  hatreds  against  himself. 

While  duty  kept  him  in  the  wilderness,  his  enemies 
found  themselves  free  to  visit  the  centres,  and  110  doubt 
worked  vigorously  at  all  the  chief  springs  of  public 
opinion  and  official  action.  Easton,  full  of  wrath,  hurried 
to  Massachusetts,  according  to  his  own  account,  'to  get  a 
proper  regulation  at  the  said  fortress,'  and  also,,  according 
to  Arnold's  Memorandum  Book,  'with  an  announced 
intention  to  injure  me  all  in  his  power.'  Safely  tucked 
into  his  pocket,  no  doubt,  lay  a  paper  signed,  May  elev 
enth,  by  a  self-styled  Committee  of  War  —  James  Easton 
heading  the  same — which  protested  against  Arnold's 
claim  to  command  at  Ticonderoga,  and  pronounced  his 
'  further  proceeding  in  the  matter,  highly  inexpedient.' 
What  Easton  said  on  the  subject  escaped  the  record;  but 
not  so  the  general  character  of  his  operations.  Delaplace 
publicly  denied  in  flat  and  even  contemptuous  terms  a 
part  of  his  account;  arid  Easton  uncovered  his  own  trail 
by  writing  in  this  wise  to  the  Congress  of  Massachusetts: 
1  I  will  just  hint  to  your  honors  that  I  should  be  willing 
to  serve  my  country  in  the  capacity  I  stand  in  at  home,  at 
the  head  of  a  regiment  on  this  northern  expedition.' 
Whether  he  would  report  fairly  and  disinterestedly  about 
Arnold,  for  whose  place  he  was  asking,  in  effect,  might 
easily  be  divined.32 


32  §  Eastern,  Petition:  4  Force,  III.,  278.  Arnold,  Regt.  Mem.  Book,  May 
10.  Com.  of  War:  Journ.  Mass.  Cong.,  p.  6g8.  Delaplace,  July  28,  1775:  4 
Force,  II.,  1087.  Easton's  hint:  Journ.  Mass.  Cong.,  p.  713. 


Arnold's  Predicament  185 

How  Brown  really  felt  about  Kaston  appeared  a 
few  months  later,  when  a  fresh  illustration  of  the 
Colonel's  tricky  self-seeking  came  to  light.  Though 
he  considered  him  neither  fair  nor  capable,  and  re 
marked  in  Latin,  '  His  reputation  is  enough.'  he  thought 
it  would  be  '  a  little  Delicate '  to  criticise  his  '  neighest 
Neighbour.'  Besides,  in  addition  to  being  closely 
associated  with  Kaston  and  allied  with  Allen  and  Mott, 
Brown  had  studied  law  with  a  cousin  of  Arnold's,  and  had 
probably  heard  much  of  the  unpleasant  side  of  Benedict's 
character;  and  now,  making  the  circuit  of  Albany,  New 
York,  Philadelphia,  Hartford,  and  Cambridge,  he  wielded 
a  special  influence  against  Arnold  everywhere,  no  doubt, 
by  reason  of  his  former  membership  in  the  Massachusetts 
Congress  and  his  notable  journey  to  Canada.  Mott, 
Phelps,  and  their  associates  had  great  strength  in  their 
Colony;  and  while  they,  like  nearly  all  the  others,  were 
in  the  main  honest  and  patriotic,  Barnabas  Deane  had  no 
doubt  good  grounds  for  writing  to  his  brother  Silas : 
'  Colonel  Arnold  has  been  greatly  abused  and  misrepre 
sented  by  designing  persons,  some  of  which  were  from 
Connecticut.'33 

Allen's  influence  went  the  same  way,  necessarily;  and, 
in  the  postscript  of  a  letter  to  the  Congress  of  New  York, 
he  added  (though  not  without  a  gulp,  one  could  see): 
'In  the  narrative  contained  in  the  enclosed  was  too 
materially  omitted  the  valour  and  intrepidity  of  Colonel 
James  Easton.  .  .  .  Colonel  Baston  is  just  returned  from 
the  Provincial  Congress  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  to  this 
place,  and  expects  he  will  soon  have  the  command  of  a 
Regiment  from  that  province.'  Evidently,  for  the  sake  of 


33  §  Brown  to  Schuyler,  Nov.  28,  1775:  Schuyler  Papers.  Brown  at  Provi 
dence:  Smith,  Pittsfield,  I.,  p.  181  ;  Berk.  Hist,  and  Sci.  Coll.,  I.,  p.  316.  Brown's 
circuit  :  Albany  Com.  to  N.  Y.  Com  ,  May  12,  1775  (4  Force,  II..  605);  Journ. 
Cong.,  May  18,  1775;  Trumbull  to  N.  Y.  Cong.,  May  29,  1775  (4  Force,  II.,  847); 
Trumbull  to  Mass.  Cong.,  May  29,  1775  (Journ.  Mass.  Cong.,  p.  709).  B.  Deane., 
June  i,  1775:  Conn.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  II.,  p.  246. 


1 86  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

an  ally  now  grown  to  so  large  a  stature,  Allen  felt  that  he 
should  pursue  his  memory  with  special  thoroughness,  and 
even  chase  it  into  the  confines  of  imagination.34 

Warned  by  Kaston's  '  announced  intention,'  Arnold 
notified  the  Massachusetts  Committee  of  Safety  that 
attempts  might  be  made  to  injure  him  for  refusing  com 
missions  to  persons  not  qualified,  and  expressed  con 
fidence  that  he  would  not  be  condemned  unheard.  We 
1  return  you  our  hearty  thanks  for  your  exertions  in  the 
publick  cause,'  was  the  reply;  *  you  may  be  assured  we 
shall  be  so  candid  as  not  to  suffer  any  impressions  to 
your  disadvantage,  until  you  shall  have  opportunity  to 
vindicate  your  conduct.'  On  the  first  day  of  June,  the 
Massachusetts  Congress  wrote  him  that  they  were  *  sorry 
to  meet  with  repeated  requests'  from  him  that  some 
gentleman  be  sent  on  to  take  command,  and  further  that 
they  placed  '  the  greatest  confidence '  in  his  '  fidelity, 
knowledge,  courage,  and  good  conduct.'  All  this  came 
from  sincere  hearts,  no  doubt;  but  their  faith  in  Arnold 
had  probably  been  undermined  far  more  than  they 
realized,  and  the  news  that  he  had  not  given  way  to 
Hinman  struck  the  edifice  at  a  peculiarly  sensitive  point.35 

*  Our  common  danger  ought  to  unite  us  in  the  strongest 
bonds  of  unity  and  affection,' — such  was  the  sentiment  of 
the  Colony.  Connecticut  did  not  demand  the  place  of 
honor  at  the  lakes  ;  but  she  now  had  the  greatest  number 
of  men  there,  and  her  sister  Colony  on  the  north — 
nervously  anxious,  as  in  dealing  with  New  York,  to 
avoid  all  appearance  of  'infringing' — saw  'with  the 
deepest  concern '  that  Colonel  Hinman  '  was  not  com- 
mander-in-chief  of  those  fortresses  and  their  appendages.' 
Truly  the  spirit  of  Massachusetts  was  noble  as  wellasfar- 


34  Allen,  June  2,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  891. 

35  §  Arnold  to  Mass.  Com.  Safety,  May  19,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  645.    Reply, 
May  27,  1775:  ib.,  723.    Mass.  Cong.,  to  Arnold,  June  i,  1775:  ib.,  1382. 


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1 88  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

sighted,    and    it  well  deserved  to   have  a  victim  smoke 
upon  its  altar.36 

In  due  course,  June  the  twenty-third  arrived  at  Crown 
Point,  and  never  had  the  .  scene  appeared  more  lovely. 
The  clear  waters  of  Lake  Champlain  curled  and  sparkled 
in  the  fresh  breeze.  The  oriole  swung  in  his  elm;  the 
robin  twittered  in  his  maple;  the  chipmunk  gleefully  made 
faces  at  the  slow-footed  soldiers.  On  the  west,  the  New 
York  Highlands  reared  a  turreted  wall  of  deep  verdure, 
and  the  massive  line  of  the  Green  Mountains  responded 
through  a  veil  of  greyish  blue  from  the  east.  Good  cheer 
reigned  at  the  post,  and  with  it  good  order.  *  To  our 
great  Mortification,'  so  Arnold  wrote  Walker  at  Montreal, 
the  regulars  had  not  come;  but  there  was  enough  to  do. 
The  fort  needed  many  repairs.  An  intrenchment  had  to 
be  constructed,  timber  gathered,  oars  made,  provisions 
collected.  All  were  alert,  all  busy;  and  the  Colonel  was 
the  busiest  and  most  alert  of  all.37 

In  the  midst  of  the  general  bustle,  three  gentlemen  from 
Massachusetts  presented  themselves.  They  formed  a 
committee  of  the  Provincial  Congress,  and  they  ordered 
Arnold  to  turn  over  the  command  to  his  Connecticut  rival. 
What  had  Hinman  achieved— a  newcomer  of  the  same 
rank — to  merit  this  advancement  over  him?  Certainly 
nothing;  quite  the  reverse;  but  Arnold's  luck  had  placed 
him  in  the  thicket  just  where  Abraham  was  looking 
about  for  a  lamb.  And  this  was  the  smallest  part  of  it. 
The  committee  handed  Arnold  their  instructions,  and  he 
found  that  they  came  to  investigate  his  conduct,  with  full 
power  to  remove  him  from  the  service.38 


36  §  Sentiment:  Mass  to  Conn.,  May  17,  1775  (4  Force,  II.,  808).  Conn, 
attitude:  Conn.  Com.  Corres.  to  Mass.  Cong.,  May  16,  1775  (ib.,  618).  Mass.  Com. 
Safety  to  N.  Y.  Com.:  ib.,  450.  Concern:  Spooner  to  Trumbull,  July  3,  1775 
(ib.,  1540). 

3  7  §  Description  based  upon  what  the  author  observed  there.  Arnold  to- 
Walker,  May  24,  1775:  Can.  Arch  ,  Q,  n,  p.  196.  Arnold,  Regt.  Mem.  Book. 

38  Instructions:  4  Force,  II.,  1407. 


An  Upheaval  at  the  Lakes  189 

An  order  like  that  signified  a  loss  of  confidence  and 
almost  amounted  to  a  dishonorable  discharge.  It  ap 
peared  to  mean  that  his  case  had  been  judged  and  con 
demnation  passed.  It  seemed,  in  view  of  the  letters 
received,  like  ingratitude  and  even  treachery.  It  was,  in 
short,  an  earthquake;  and,  in  the  darkness  of  the  abyss, 
an  excited  imagination  could  read  a  blasted  reputation, 
smitten  hopes,  a  ruined  life.  '  He  seemed  greatly  discon 
certed,'  said  the  committee.39  No  wonder. 

Had  Arnold  been  a  saint,  he  would — or  at  least 
should — have  begged  an  appointment  as  teamster.  Had 
he  been  a  star-crowned  patriot,  he  might — though  pre 
cedents  were  mostly  against  it — have  craved  a  musket 
and  a  knapsack.  Had  he  been  Sir  Francis  Bacon,  he 
would  have  composed  an  essay.  Had  he  been  lago,  he 
would  have  dissembled  and  plotted.  As  it  was,  being 
impetuous,  rash,  proud,  and  arbitrary,  he  immediately 
turned  his  coat  of  many  colors  wrong  side  out,  and 
exhibited  at  large  the  dark  lining  of  his  brilliant  powers. 

If  he  so  chose,  he  could  reasonably  decline  to  serve 
under  Hinman;  but  it  was  equally  untrue  and  foolish  to 
declare  that  he  would  not  be  second  in  command  to  any 
person.  When  the  committee  required  his  force  to  pass 
muster,  with  the  intimation  that  men  now  found  unfit 
would  be  thrown  out  and  receive  no  pay  for  previous 
duty,  he  might  have  protested;  but  it  was  scarcely  proper 
to  disband  his  regiment.  The  refusal  of  the  Massa 
chusetts  Congress  to  send  funds  might  compel  him  to 
draw  on  his  own  purse  and  pay  debts  incurred  for  the 
service;  but  of  course  even  that  could  hardly  excuse  him 
for  not  acting  the  perfect  gentleman.  When  some  of  his 
men,  enraged  by  this  handling  of  themselves  and  their 
commander,  mutinied  and  treated  members  of  the  other 


39  Report  of  Com.,  July  6,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  1596. 

t 


190  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

party  with  very  grave  discourtesy,  Arnold  perhaps  could 
not  help  sympathizing  with  them;  but  he  should  not 
have  given  countenance  to  the  outbreak.40 

Still,  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  accounts  of  the 
disturbances,  besides  being  general  and  confused,  are  all 
from  the  supporters  of  the  committee.  When  Judge 
Duer,  who  fought  in  the  thick  of  it  on  that  side,  under 
took  to  say  the  worst  he  could  of  Arnold,  he  only  wrote 
that  his  '  unaccountable  pride'  led  him  *  to  sacrifice  the  true 
interest  of  the  Country'— a  somewhat  vague  and  some 
what  debatable  verdict,  and  one  that  could  be  very  widely 
used  among  soldiers  and  public  men.  But,  whatever  took 
place,  concord  finally  returned.  Easton  obtained  the 
coveted  post  of  colonel,  with  his  neighbor,  John  Brown, 
for  major;  and  while  Arnold— little  dreaming  how  soon 
and  how  brilliantly  he  was  to  reappear  on  the  stage- 
settled  up  his  affairs  and  retired  to  New  Haven,  Colonel 
Hinman  reigned  unchallenged  in  his  place.41 

So  reigned  King  Log.  We  know  little  of  Hinman' s 
doings,  but  probably  we  know  the  whole.  Doubtless  he 
proved  a  much  pleasanter  person  to  get  on  with  than 
Arnold,  for  he  had  no  desire  to  disturb  anybody,  not  even 
the  enemy.  His  principle,  as  explained  by  himself,  was 
to  wait  for  orders.  Indeed,  he  continued  to  understand 
his  commission  as  Arnold  had  construed  it:  he  had  come 
only  to  reinforce  the  garrison.  'Not  one  earthly  thing  for 
offence  or  defence  has  been  done,'  was  the  official  report 
nearly  four  weeks  later.  A  Tory  prisoner  who  escaped 
from  Crown  Point  said  in  Canada,  that  twenty  men  could 
have  surprised  and  captured  that  post.  '  With  a  pen-knife 

40  S  Arnold  Regt  Mem.  Book.    E.  Mottto  Trumbull,  July  6,  1775:  4  Force, 
II.,  1592.     Duer  to  Schuyler,  July  19,  1775:  Sparks  MSS.,   No.  60,  p.  i      S.  Mott 
to  Trumbull,  June  30,  i775'-  Trumbull  Papers,  IV.,   p.  124.     Report  of  Mass^ 
Com  -  4  Force,  II.,  1596.     Arnold  to  Com.,  June  24,  1775:  ib.,  1598.    Spooner  to 
N.  Y.  Cong,  and  to  Trumbull,  July  3,  1775:  ib.,  1540.    REMARK  XI. 

41  5  E    Mott  and  Duer:    Note  40.    Easton  to  Mass.   Cong.,  May  30,  1775: 
Journ.  Mass.  Cong.,  p.  712.    At  N.  Haven:  Arnold  to  Price,  July  25,  1775  iEm- 
met  Coll.). 


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192   Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

only,'  wrote  an  American  officer  who  reached  the  north 
end  of  Lake  George  about  ten  o'clock  at  night ;  '  with  a 
pen-knife  only  I  could  have  cut  off  both  guards  [for  they 
were  soundly  asleep],  and  then  have  set  fire  to  the  block 
house,  destroyed  the  stores,  and  starved  the  people '  at 
Ticonderoga.  Meanwhile  one,  if  not  both,  of  the  vessels, 
vital  elements  of  the  defence,  had  no  commander.42 

Arnold  must  have  known  Hinman  by  reputation,  if  not 
personally.  Probably  he  did  not  see  how  the '  true  interest  of 
the  Country'  would  be  advanced  by  allowing  such  a  person 
to  command;  and  perhaps  that  explained— in  part,  at  least 
—his  wrath  and  his  resignation.  Under  such  leadership 
a  man  of  outlook  and  energy  could  only  have  gone  mad. 

But  happily  this  condition  of  things  could  not  last;  or, 
at  all  events,  it  did  not.  At  the  very  end  of  May,  the 
Continental  Congress,  roused  to  action  by  Arnold's  notice 
of  the  preparations  at  St.  Johns,  advised  substantially 
what  the  Colonies  had  arranged  to  do.  Three  weeks 
later,  on  the  unanimous  recommendation  of  the  New 
York  Congress,  Philip  Schuyler  was  elected  a  major- 
general.  After  reflecting  a  week  more,  the  Conscript 
Fathers  ordered  him  to  the  lakes;  and,  after  another 
interval,  he  took  command  there.  The  cloud  on  the 
northern  border  looked  very  dark  now,  and  most  fervently 
prayed  the  devout  Governor  Trumbull:  'May  the 
supreme  Director  of  all  events  give  wisdom,  stability 
and  union  in  all  our  counsels;  inspire  our  soldiery  with 
courage  and  fortitude;  cover  their  heads  in  the  day  of 
battle  and  danger;  convince  our  enemies  of  their  mistaken 
measures,  and  that  all  attempts  to  deprive  us  of  our 
rights  are  injurious  and  vain.43 

42  §  Schuyler  to  Wash.,  July  18,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  1685.    Tory:  Maseres  to 
Shelburne,  Aug.  24,  1775  (Bancroft  Coll.,  En^r.  and  Am.,  Aug.,  i775-Dec.,  1776, 
p.  25).    S.  Mott  to  Truinbull,  June  30,  1775 :  Trumbull  Papers,  IV. ,  p.  124. 

43  §  journ.  Cong.,  May  30;  June  19.     Secret  Journ.  Cong.,  June  27.    N.  Y. 
Cong  to  Delegs.,  June  7,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  1281.    July  3,  Schuyler  wrote  from 
N  Y. :  'I  shall  leave  this  to-day  '  (Cont.  Cong.  Papers,  153,  I.,  p.  15).  Trumbull 
to' Mass.  Cong,  June  27,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  1116. 


VII 
CANADA  REACHES  A  CRISIS 

THE  tenth  day  of  April,  1775,  witnessed  a  striking 
scene  in  London,  for  the  Lord  Mayor,  the  Sheriffs, 
the  Aldermen ,  and  the  Livery  of  that  great  city  presented 
themselves  at  St.  James's,  and  waited  on  His  Majesty, 
King  George  the  Third.  Their  business  was  to  offer 
a  petition  for  the  dismissal  of  the  Ministers,  as  the  first 
step  towards  redress  for  America;  and  among  their  com 
plaints  resounded  the  cry  of  Canada:  '  The  Habeas 
Corpus  Act,  and  Trial  by  Jury,  have  been  suppressed, 
and  French  Despotick  Government,  with  the  Roman 
Catholick  Religion,  has  been  established  by  law  over  an 
extensive  part  of  your  Majesty's  Dominions,  in  America.'1 
When  the  petition  had  been  read  aloud  (though  its 
contents  had  been  made  known  in  advance),  it  was 
handed  to  the  Lord  Mayor,  '  who  delivered  it  to  the  King 
with  a  half-bent  knee  and  the  most  profound  reverence.' 
His  Majesty  passed  it  to  the  Lord  in  waiting,  and  de 
liberately  drew  a  paper  from  his  pocket.  '  George,  be  a 
king! '  had  been  drummed  into  his  youthful  ears  by  his 
mother,  and  with  more  than  filial  obedience  his  broad 
back  stiffened  obstinately  to  the  task.  The  petition,  he 
declared,  had  filled  him  with  the  '  utmost  astonishment ' ; 
and  as  for  heeding  it, — '  I  will  steadily  pursue '  the  measures 
already  decided  upon,  he  assured  the  Mayor.  A  silence 
of  two  minutes  followed,  a  silence  of  fate.  Then  the  Lord 


1  This  paragraph  and  the  next-  4  Force,  X.,  1853,  note  ;  1854.      '  Be  a  king' : 
Thackeray,  Geo.  III. 

VOL.  I. — -13 

193 


194  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

Mayor  bowed  low,  retreated  backward  to  the  middle  of 
the  room,  made  a  second  obeisance,  retired  to  the  door, 
and  there  bowed  once  more.  The  King  moved  his  hat  to 
his  Lordship,  '  and  thus  ended  the  business.'  At  any  rate 
so  His  Majesty  fancied. 

But  perhaps  it  was  the  Colonies,  not  Canada,  that  King 
George  had  made  up  his  mind,  or  at  least  his  back,  to 
override.  Perhaps  his  government  would  have  surrend 
ered  the  Quebec  Act,  had  that  alone  been  objected  to. 
A  few  weeks  more,  and  the  attitude  of  the  Administration 
on  this  matter  also  was  made  clear. 

The  humble  traders  of  Canada,  spotted — as  they  were 
believed  to  be — with  Colonial  uppishness,  had  felt  no 
glowing  confidence  in  their  power  to  bend  the  Sceptre; 
but  their  grievances  pinched;  and  the  cry  of  pain,  though 
perhaps  not  wholly  genuine,  was  both  natural  and  con 
venient.  Not  only  political  extinction  but  commercial 
ruin  was  said  to  wait — and  wait  impatiently — at  their 
door.  What  else  could  be  expected,  they  asked,  under 
laws  made  by  a  Council  sworn  to  secrecy,  under  old 
French  rules,  ambiguous  and  unfamiliar,  and  under  alien 
methods  of  justice,  tedious  and  costly  ?  The  Indian  trade 
would  be  exposed  to  every  sort  of  vexation,  and  would 
very  likely  drift  in  large  measure  to  New  York.  The 
1  late  converts  to  loyalty '  would  be  everywhere  favored, 
and  themselves  entirely  excluded  by  the  government 
'  from  all  confidence  or  even  common  civility.'  It  was 
resolved,  therefore,  as  the  result  of  the  agitation  and  the 
meetings  in  October,  1774,  to  show  His  Majesty  and 
Parliament  'the  Share  we  have  of  the  Trade,  the  landed 
Property  we  possess,  the  miserable  State  we  found  this 
Province  in,  and  the  flourishing  State  we  have  brought  it 
to.'  A  petition  for  repeal  or  substantial  amendment  took 
shape;  and  it  was  agreed,  not  only  to  arouse  the  zeal  of 
all  commercial  friends  in  England  with  urgent  letters,  but 


Attempts  to  Rouse  the  Canadians          195 

to  give  Mr.  Maseres  a  handsome  purse,  with  the  promise 
of  a  still  larger  sum  in  the  event  of  success.2 

The  French-Canadians  were    plied   with  all  sorts   of 
arguments  more  or  less  trustworthy. 

The  object  of  repeal,  explained  their  British  neighbors, 
was  to  save  their  little  properties;  to  deprive  the  Governor 
of  his  power  to  send  them  up-country  among  the  savages, 
or  south  to  fight  the  Bostonians ;  *  in  short,'  as  Carleton 
sarcastically  observed,  '  to  relieve  them  from  the  Oppres 
sions  and  Slavery'  imposed  upon  them  by  the  Quebec  Act. 
These  were  arguments  the  Canadians  could  feel,  could 
not  help  feeling.  Their  farms,  their  cabins,  their  affec 
tionate,  good-natured  wives,  their  children, — already 
dear, — grew  dearer  still  at  the  thought  of  losing  them. 
The  recent  war  had  left  dreadful  memories.  They  wished 
no  more  such  horrors;  and  it  was  reported  seriously  that, 
as  married  men  could  not  be  forced  to  do  militia  service, 
the  young  fellows  now  hurried  into  this  pleasant  avenue 
of  escape,  till  soon  there  was  '  hardly  an  unmarried  Man 
to  be  found  in  all  the  country.'  The  prospect  of  com 
pulsory  tithes,  the  reinstatement  of  the  nobles,  and  what 
an  Englishman  called  '  the  wantonly  and  profusely  invent 
ing  places  for  creatures  and  sycophants  '  of  the  Governor, 
though  less  vital  offences,  galled  them  severely.  Almon's 
Remembrancer  declared  later  that  the  famous  Act  had 
displeased  nine-tenths  of  the  people ;  and,  while  no  such 
calculation  could  be  made  as  yet,  the  case  already  stood, 
perhaps,  at  about  that  figure.  'A  very  little  matter  would 
have  induced  the  Canadians  to  unite  in  a  body  to  peti 
tion  for  a  Repeal,'  wrote  a  gentleman  from  Quebec. 
Indeed,  some  'Canadian  farmers  and  others,  being 

2  §  see  p.  68.  Petition,  Apr.  2,  1778:  Can.  Arch.,  B,  43,  p.  13.  (Though 
later,  this  merely  states  the  case  of  1775.)  Intercepted  letter  of  Fraser-  Essex 
Gazette,  June  8,  1775.  Montreal  letter,  Oct.  9,  1774:  N.  Y.  Journal,  Nov.  10, 
I774,  P-  3-  Petition,  Nov.  12,  1774:  Can.  Arch.,  Q,  n,  p.  98.  Carleton  to  Dart 
mouth,  Nov.  IT,  1775:  Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Colon.  Corres.,  Quebec,  n,  p.  17. 


196  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

greatly  alarmed  '  by  the  action  of  Parliament,  begged  leave 
'  to  acquaint  the  gentlemen  of  the  committee  for  Montreal 
that  any  legal  steps  they  should  take  for  the  repeal '  of  the 
hated  act  would  be  approved  of;  and,  further,  they 
denounced  the  French  petition  that  gave  ostensible  cause 
for  passing  the  law  as  '  contrived  and  obtained  in  a 
clandestine  and  fraudulent  manner,  by  a  few  designing 
men,  in  order  to  get  themselves  into  posts  of  profit  and 
honor. ' 8 

On  the  other  side,  all  species  of  counter  influences  were 
used.  One  morning,  a  young  boy  stopped  Monsieur  Olry 
in  the  street  at  Quebec  and  handed  him  a  paper.  It  was 
a  letter  in  French  urging  the  Canadians  not  to  join  in 
moving  for  repeal;  and,  as  report  would  have  it  that 
some  students  at  the  Seminary  worked  for  days  copying 
the  same  document  for  dispersion  through  the  province, 
the  Bishop's  hand  appeared  to  have  signed  it,— only  with 
invisible  ink.  The  French  had  no  tradition  of  such 
interference  with  the  government  as  the  British  proposed. 
Carleton's  tremendous  powers  overawed  them.  Some 
were  informed  that,  should  the  Act  be  repealed,  the 
Canadian  Protestants  would  have  full  control  and  abolish 
their  religion.  The  clergy  sent  out  circulars  intended  to 
reconcile  them  to  it ;  and  no  doubt  Carleton,  as  well  as 
the  subordinate  officials,  did  everything  possible  to 
explain  its  meaning.  Besides,  the  Canadian  shrank  from 
allying  himself  too  closely  with  the  British,  because  a 
whisper  came  from  the  bottom  of  his  heart  that  in  effect, 
at  least,  Quebec  was  to  be  a  French  province  again,  and 
no  Briton  save  the  Governor  was  to  hold  office  there. 
So— baffled,  misled,  intimidated,  muzzled,  yet  uncon 
vinced — the  mass  of  the  people  still  brooded  in  silence 


3  §  Carleton  to  Dartmouth,  Nov.  n  :  Note  2.  Withrow,  Canada,  p.  134. 
Marrying:  N.  E.  Chron.,  May  2,  1775.  Maseres,  Add.  Papers,  pp.  102,  103. 
Almon,  Retnemb.,  1776,  Part  I.,  p.  130.  Farmers:  Quebec  letter,  Oct.  24,  1774 
(N.  Y.  Journal,  Dec.  i,  1774). 


GEORGE  THE  THIRD 


197 


British-Canadian  Petitions  199 

tinder  a  smiling  face.  As  the  Quebec  gentleman  put  it, 
'no  one  cared  to  step  forth.'4 

The  British  petitions,  however,  adorned  with  nearly  two 
hundred  names,  made  their  way  across  the  wintry  Atlantic, 
and  presented  themselves  at  the  capital  in  January,  1775. 
No  less  wintry  proved  the  metropolis,  — at  all  events  the 
most  important  spots  of  it.  Even  before  the  signers  had 
put  their  hands  to  the  parchments,  a  letter  from  London 
had  predicted,  with  biting  humor,  that  they  would  go  '  to 
make  kites  for  the  great  and  little  babes  at  Kew  and 
Buckingham  House.'  About  the  time  they  arrived,  a  Lon 
doner  remarked :  '  The  petitions  that  are  intended  to  be 
presented  by  the  Protestants  of  Quebec,  it  is  now  certainly 
known,  are  the  manufactures  of  two  or  three  uneasy 
patriots  in  this  metropolis,  and  are  signed  by  a  very  con 
temptible  number  indeed,  and  no  doubt  will  be  received  by 
the  Sovereign  with  the  contempt  they  deserve ' :  possibly 
as  safe  a  venture  at  prediction  as  ever  a  prophet  under 
took.  With  some  force,  no  doubt,  the  petitions  touched 
certain  springs  of  alarm;  but,  in  view  of  the  general  poor 
opinion  of  their  authors,  they  excited  resentment  far  more, 
— '  bitter  resentment,'  said  the  Annual  Register.  'The 
proposition  has  been  stirred  up  to  answer  factious  views,' 
declared  the  Earl  of  Dartmouth.8 

The  documents  could  not  pass,  evidently,  through  the 
official  channel;  and  on  that  ground  the  Secretary  of  State 
for  the  Colonies  declined  to  lay  them  before  Parliament. 
A  weary  journey  they  then  began  in  search  of  good- will. 
At  many  a  noble  door  they  knocked  in  vain.  Week  after 
week  and  month  after  month,  they  travelled  and  waited; 
but  at  length,  on  the  seventeenth  of  May,  Lord  Camden 


4  §  Olry:  Maseres,  Account,  p.  264.     Abolish:  ib.,  p.  134.     Walker,  Apr.  8, 
1775:  Mass.  Arch.,  Vol.  193,  p.  83.     Letter  quoted:  Maseres,  Add.  Papers,  p.  103. 

5  §  Petition:  Can.  Arch.,  Q,  n,  p.  g8.    Parl.  report:  4  Force,  I.,  1823-1838. 
N.  Y.  Journal,  Nov.  3,  1774.     Mass.  Gazette,  Mar.  27,  1775.     Annual  Register, 
1776,  p.  9.    Dartmouth  to  Cramah£,  Apr.  6,  1775:  Can.  Arch.,  Q,  10,  p.  42. 


2OO  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

ventured  to  act  as  sponsor  in  the  Chamber  of  Peers,  and  the 
next  day  Sir  George  Savile  performed  the  same  charitable 
office  in  the  lower  House.  The  Opposition  were  now 
ready.  As  Dartmouth  phrased  it,  '  The  Attempt  made  to 
raise  new  Difficulties  to  Gov[ernmen]t  on  the  ground  of 
the  Petitions  from  the  old  Subjects  in  Quebec '  received 
the  support  of  their  '  whole  Strength.'  The  enlargement 
of  the  province,  exclaimed  Lord  Camden,  was  intended  to 
establish  *  an  eternal  barrier  .  .  .  against  the  further  exten 
sion  of  civil  liberty  and  the  Protestant  religion.'  The 
Quebec  Bill,  cried  another,  had  '  struck  a  damp '  upon  the 
credit  of  the  country.  Barre  denounced  it  as  a  '  mon 
strous  production  of  tyranny,  injustice  and  arbitrary 
power.'  The  wounds  of  murdered  Habeas  Corpus  and 
the  jury  system  were  displayed  afresh.  Savile  asked 
where  the  regiment  of  French-Canadian  papists  would 
march,  and  when  their  task  would  end.  '  They  will 
march  till  they  come  to  water  they  cannot  cross,  and  shoot 
until  powder  and  ball  are  used  up, '  he  protested,  with  an 
eye  on  the  Colonies  to  the  south.8 

But  even  this  aim  failed  to  hit.  The  Prime  Minister 
rose.  By  this  time  the  issue  between  Great  Britain  and 
the  Americans  had  been  greatly  sharpened;  blood  had 
flowed;  and  he  thought  he  could  afford  now  to  be  half 
way  frank.  '  I  stand  up  in  my  place,'  he  replied;  '  I  stand 
up  in  my  place  to  assert  that  if  the  refractory  Colonies 
cannot  be  reduced  to  obedience  by  the  present  force,  I 
think  it  a  necessary  measure  to  arm  the  Roman  Catholics 
of  Canada.'  In  the  end,  King  George's  back  and  L,ord 
North's  head  triumphed  once  more,  and  the  Karl  of 
Dartmouth  had  the  satisfaction  of  informing  Carleton  that 


6  §  Parl.  report:  4  Force,  I.,  1823-1838.  The  report  gives  the  substance, 
not  the  form,  of  Savile's  remark.  Dartmouth  to  Carleton,  June  7,  1775:  Pub. 
Rec.  Off.,  Colon.  Corres.,  Quebec,  n,  p.  211. 


The  Discontent  Grows  201 

a  'Great  Majority  in  both  Houses'  proved  how  little  the 
petitions  had  accomplished.7 

I,ong  before  the  vote  was  taken,  this  result  could  be  fore 
seen,  without  a  doubt ;  and  the  gentlemen  in  Quebec  and 
Montreal  must  have  received  early  notice  what  to  expect. 

No  longer  checked  by  the  hope  of  repeal,  discontent 
then  grew  apace.  Many,  if  not  most,  of  the  merchants 
talked  of  leaving  the  province;  but  their  affairs  could  not 
be  wound  up  in  a  day,  and  they  growled  on.  The  increas 
ing  distrust  with  which  the  Governor  regarded  them,  and 
the  growing  favor  shown,  quite  naturally,  to  the  ostenta 
tious  loyalty  of  the  Bishop  and  the  nobles,  vexed  them 
daily.  The  military  party  grew  more  offensive  than  ever. 
Even  a  stanch  Tory  like  Major  Caldwell,  proprietor  of 
the  most  important  seigneury  in  Canada,  complained 
sharply  when  the  Governor,  suspecting,  no  doubt,  that 
his  coolness  barely  cloaked  sedition,  ignored  his  claims  to 
recognition.  At  the  same  time,  the  French  commoners 
felt  a  new  disgust  on  observing  that  no  man  from  their 
commercial  class  received  a  summons  to  the  Council. 
They  figured  sourly  on  the  cost  of  the  half-pay  and 
salaries  allotted  to  their  ancient  oppressors,  grumbled  over 
the  unpopular  appointments  to  the  bench,  and  resented  the 
arrogance  of  the  regulars.  I^a  Corne  himself,  terrible 
though  he  was,  had  little  success  in  firing  the  Canadian 
heart  with  loyalty, — so  Ferris  reported.8 

Some  quailed  as  they  saw  the  sky  darken.  'I  pray 
God  to  grant  peace  on  almost  any  terms ;  the  blood  of 
British  subjects  is  very  precious,'  wrote  McCord  to 
Lieutenant  Pettegrew.  Not  so  Thomas  Walker,  however. 
*  Few  in  this  Colony  dare  vent  their  Griefs;  but  groan  in 

7  §  North:  4  Force,  I.,  1836.    Dartmouth:  Note  6. 

8  gFraser's  letter  (Brown) :  N.  F,.  Chron.,  June  8,  1775.     Caldwell  to 

May  — ,  1775:   MSS.  of  Marq.  of  I^ansdowne,  Vol.  66,  fo.  97.     Better  quoted  by 
Maseres,  Add.  Papers,  pp.  102,  103.    Allen  to  Mass.  Cong.,  June  q  177^  4  Force 
II.,  939.     Ferns:  Journ.  Mass.  Cong.,  p.  714  (Easton's  letter). 


202   Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

Silence,  and  dream  of  Lettres  de  Cachet,  Confiscations' 
and  Imprisonments,'  he  wrote  Samuel  Adams;  but  he  for 
one  belonged  among  the  few.  Not  content  with  offering 
up  '  fervent  Prayers  to  the  Throne  of  Grace  '  to  prosper 
the  Colonial  cause,  or  possibly  not  sufficiently  confident 


FROM   THE  LETTER   OF  APRIL  8,   1775,   TO  SAMUEL  ADAMS 
AND   HIS   ASSOCIATES. 

of  achieving  much  there,  he  declared  aloud  that  the 
Colonists  were  brave  people,  and  would  fight  for  their 
liberty  and  their  rights  while  they  had  a  drop  of  blood 
left.9 

With  equal  vigor  he  proclaimed  his  own  rights.     One 

9  S  McCord  to  Pettegrew,  Apr.  27,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  846.  Walker  to  S 
Adams,  Apr  8,  1775 :  Mass.  Arch.,  Vol.  ig3,  p.  83.  Intelligence  received  by 
Carleton,  Apr.  5,  1775:  Can.  Arch.,  Q,  n,  p.  149- 


The  Discontent  Grows  203 

day,  overhearing  a  discussion  on  politics  in  the  market 
place  at  Montreal,  he  promptly  joined  the  group  of  dis 
putants. 

'  We  are  not  judges  between  England  and  the  Colonies,' 
maintained  a  prominent  French  loyalist  named  Rouville, 
while  a  large  number  of  habitants  listened. 

*  Blood,'  interrupted  Walker,  '  Blood  will  wash  off  the 
stains  with  which  the  Ministers  have  soiled  the  Constitu 
tion.  We  must  have  blood,  and  then  in  a  few  years 
everything  will  be  set  right.  As  for  you  Canadians,  it 
only  depends  on  yourselves,  if  you  wish  to  be  free.  This 
is  the  moment,  if  you  choose  to  take  advantage  of  it.' 

'  These  people  listening  to  you  and  me  have  never  been 
slaves,  any  more  than  yourself,'  replied  Rouville;  '  and 
our  submissiveness  to  the  King  and  his  government  is  an 
assurance  that  we  shall  always  be  free.' 

'What  do  you  call  the  King?'  demanded  Walker 
sharply. 

'My  sovereign,  my  lord,  and  my  master,'  answered 
Rouville,  according  to  his  own  account. 

'An  Englishman  owns  not  the  King  for  his  master,' 
was  the  quick  retort;  '  the  King  is  not  my  master,  for  I 
don't  eat  his  bread.  Were  I  an  officer,  I  should  own  him 
for  my  master,  and  obey  him  as  such;  but  at  present  I 
am  his  subject  only,  and  am  ready  to  obey  the  laws.' 

'No  matter  what  you  call  him,  he  is  going  to  be  your 
master,'  answered  Rouville,  turning  away.  To  help 
fulfill  this  prediction,  he  reported  the  dialogue  to  Gov 
ernor  Carleton,  and  soon  the  general  discontent  was 
heightened  by  his  appointment  as  judge  at  a  salary- 
people  understood — of  ^"700  a  year.10 

On  May-day,  1775,  the  great  Quebec  Act  began  to  ope 
rate;  and  from  this  date — so  the  malcontents  had  com- 


10  §  Rouville:    Can.    Arch.,    Q.    n,   p.    149.     Mrs.  Walker,  Journal.     letter 
from  Quebec:  4  Force,  III.,   1185.     Letter  quoted,  Maseres,  Add.  Papers,  p.  102. 


2O4  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

plained — Governor  Carleton,  clothed  with  '  much  greater 
power  than  a  Spanish  Vice  Roy,'  was  to  hold  in  his  hand 
'  the  Lives  and  Properties  of  every  Person  '  in  Canada. 
Now  their  bitter  anticipations  were  to  be  fulfilled:  '  We 
must  be  reduced  to  the  unhappy  Necessity  of  living  as 
Slaves,  or  abandoning  the  Country,  and  a  great  Part  of 
our  Property.'11 

As  the  first  thin  light  of  dawn  glimmered  up  the  St. 
Lawrence,  all  the  people  shuffling  hurriedly  across  the 
Parade  stopped  aghast.  Forgetting  their  errands,  for 
getting  the  morning  chill,  they  stiffened  and  stayed  as  if 
suddenly  frozen.  Before  them  under  its  canopy  stood  the 
lordly  bust  of  King  George,  a  familiar  sight  for  some 
years  past.  But  now  a  ridiculous  mitre  crowned  the 
head;  the  testy  features  of  white  marble  were  black;  and 
round  the  neck  hung  a  rosary  of  potatoes,  cut  like  beads, 
with  a  wooden  cross  at  the  end  of  it  and  a  label  in  French, 
reading:  'This  is  the  Pope  of  Canada  and  the  Fool  of 
England.'12 

Some  one  notified  the  authorities,  both  civil  and 
military;  and  immediately  drums  went  beating  round 
the  town — followed  impressively  by  the  grenadiers  of  the 
26th  Regiment — with  an  offer  of  one  hundred  guineas  for 
the  discovery  of  the  culprits.  Fast  grew  the  crowd;  and 
it  soon  warmed  out  of  its  ice.  For  one  reason  or  another 
everybody  was  angry.  The  military  gentlemen  charged 
the  British  merchants,  and  especially  their  committee, 
with  the  outrage.  Walker  was  ill  at  the  time,  but  no 
doubt  his  party  retorted  with  the  story  of  his  ear;  and 


>  i  Quebec  letter:  N.  Y.  Journal:  Nov.  10,  1774,  p.  3. 

i 2  §  This  paragraph  and  the  next  (accounts  differ  somewhat,  as  usual) : 
Carleton  to  Dartmouth,  May  15,  1775  (Can.  Arch.,  Q,  n,  p.  161);  Maseres,  Add. 
Papers,  pp.  155-163  ;  letter  to  Maseres,  June  22,  1775  (Bancroft  Coll.,  E,ng.  and 
Amer.,  Jan. -Aug.,  1775,  p.  482  ;  Mrs.  Walker,  Journal ;  Better  to  Finlay,  May 
6,  1775  (4  Force,  II  ,  518)  ;  Quebec  Gazette,  May  n,  1775  ;  Smith,  Canada,  II., 
p.  73  ;  Bourinot,  Canada  under  British  Rule,  p.  48  ;  Verreau,  Invasion,  p.  335  ; 
Hart,  Queb.  Act,  p.  5.  White  marble:  L,iv.  Journal,  Nov.  17.  Reward,  etc.: 
Maseres,  Add.  Papers,  pp.  155,  156. 


The  Quebec  Act  in  Force  205 

they  met  all  insinuations  by  adding  a  sum  of  their  own 
to  the  reward  offered  by  the  authorities.  The  French, 
indignant  at  the  abuse  of  their  language,  or  fearful  of  the 
consequences,  raged  in  chorus.  The  Jews  were  accused; 
and  one  of  them,  to  refute  the  charge,  knocked  down  a 
Canadian.  An  Englishman's  nose  was  pulled;  and  then 
a  second  Frenchman  rolled  on  the  ground.  Monsieur 
Bellestre,  a  Canadian  of  some  note,  got  into  hot  words 
with  a  young  gentleman  lately  of  Philadelphia,  and  from 
words  into  blows;  upon  which  the  new  judges  had 
soldiers  with  fixed  bayonets  hustle  the  American  to  jail, 
and  blew  the  public  fire  by  illegally  refusing  him  bail. 
The  drums  beat  in  vain;  and  an  attempt  to  burn  the 
town— if  it  was  not  a  case  of  spontaneous  combustion  — 
fairly  registered  the  exasperation  of  the  people. 

Of  course  the  political  excitement  boiled  now  more 
fiercely  than  ever.  The  judges  found  out  their  mistake, 
and  offered  to  accept  bail;  but  the  Philadelphia!!  rejected 
the  olive  branch:  let  the  world  see  how  British  subjects 
were  treated  in  Canada.  '  The  English  in  this  country 
are  in  a  deplorable  situation,  being  deprived  of  all  their 
liberties  and  privileges,'  lamented  Randle  Meredith  to 
John  Rowe  of  Boston  the  next  day.  The  Act  '  has  had 
such  effect  upon  me  (as  an  Englishman),'  complained 
another  man  gloomily,  '  that  it  has  much  impaired  my 
health,  finding  myself  married  and  perhaps  settled  for  life 
under  the  royal  promise  of  the  enjoyment  of  the  rights 
and  privileges,  laws  and  customs  of  Great  Britain,  then  in 
a  moment  by  an  Act  of  a  British  Parliament,  deprived  of 
all.'  After  a  time,  an  opinion  of  the  Attorney-General 
set  the  Philadelphia!!  free,  but  this  did  not  stop  the 
agitation.  A  Petition  at  Quebec  and  a  Remonstrance  at 
Montreal  fed  the  flames.  People  began  to  think  that 
Walker's  prediction  of  a  few  days  before  was  coming 
true:  '  Little  by  little  you  will  discover  the  aim  of  the 


206  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

Minister,  which  is  to  deprive  you  of  your  Rights  and 
your  Property,'  and  also  as  if  his  advice  had  been  sound: 
1  the  only  way  to  save  them  is  to  send  delegates  to  the 
coming  Congress;  that  will  secure  them.'  Stung  to  action 
at  last,  the  British  merchants  of  Montreal  despatched  Mr. 
Price — a  quieter  but  not  less  active  Friend  of  liberty  than 
Walker — as  their  informal  representative  at  Philadelphia.13 
The  gentry,  meanwhile,  received  the  new  regime  as 
might  have  been  expected.  Very  well  pleased  they 
could  afford  to  be,  since — as  a  gentleman  in  Montreal 
put  it — 'they  expected  now  '  to  lord  it  over  the  industrious 
Farmer  and  Trader,  and  live  upon  their  Spoils,  as  they 
did  before  the  Conquest/  '  Too  much  elated  with  the 
advantages  which  they  supposed  they  should  derive  from 
the  restoration  of  their  old  Priviledges  &  Customs,'  wrote 
the  Tory  Chief-Justice,  they  '  indulged  themselves  in  a 
way  of  thinking  &  talking  that  gave  very  just  offence,  as 
well  to  their  own  People  as  to  the  English  merchants.' 
'I  'm  going  to  tell  the  General,'  now  began  to  be  their 
song — and  indeed  the  song  of  Canadians  below  their 
rank  sometimes — if  anything  crossed  their  interest  or  their 
touchy  pride.  '  The  Pre  eminence  given  to  their  Reli 
gion,'  said  Walker,  'together  with  a  Participation  of 
Honours  &  Offices  in  common  with  the  Knglish,  not  only 
natters  their  natural  Pride  &  Vanity,  but  is  regarded  by 
them,  as  a  mark  of  Distinction  &  Merit  that  lays  open 
their  way  to  Fortune,  of  Liberty,  or  Law,  they  have  not 
the  least  Notion.'  Hven  the  Governor  suffered  from 
their  self-conceit.  Monsieur  de  L'Hory  had  seemed  to 
him  the  fittest  leader  for  his  proposed  Canadian  troops  ; 
and,  with  that  in  view,  he  placed  him  in  the  Council  and 


13  Carleton  to  Dartmouth,  May  15, 1775:  Can.  Arch.,  Q,  n,  p.  161.  Meredith, 
May  2, 1775:  4  Force,  II.,  846.  Better  to  Maseres,  June  22,  1775  :  Bancroft  Coll., 
Eng.  and  Am.,  Jan.-Aug.,  1775,  p.  482.  Walker:  Intelligence  from  Montreal  (in 
French)  (Can.  Arch.,  Q,  n,  p.  169).  Price-  Conn.  Com.  to  Conn.  Assembly, 
May  23,  1775  (Journ.  Mass.  Cong.,  p.  707);  Montg.  to  Schuyler,  Dec.  26,  1775  (4 
Force,  IV.,  464). 


IN  OLD   MONTREAL 


207 


Attitude  of  the  Clergy  209 

found  him  an  income  of  ^400  a  year.  Yet,  when  it  came 
to  the  question  of  doing  something,  the  fellow  insisted 
upon  having  the  rank  of  a  colonel  in  the  regular  service, 
and  Carleton  dropped  him  in  disgust.  But  the  gentry 
could  be  reckoned  on  for  one  thing  besides  vanity  and 
folly:  '  the  noblesse  are  our  bitter  enemies,  '  Price  correctly 
stated;  and  indeed  for  another  thing—  they  craved  war  as 
earnestly  as  the  peasants  craved  peace;  for  war,  and  that 
alone,  would  make  them  of  value.14 

The  attitude  of  the  clergy,  while  more  subtle,  was 
almost  equally  loyal  to  the  government.  Brown,  at  the 
time  of  his  Canadian  visit,  met  several  priests  in  a  village 
near  Montreal,  'praying  over  the  Body  of  an  old  Frier.' 
A  pamphlet  containing  the  Address  of  Congress  '  was 
soon  handed  them,  who  sent  a  Messenger  to  purchase 
several—  I  made  them  a  Present  of  each  of  them  one,' 
reported  the  envoy,  'and  was  desired  to  wait  on  them  in 
the  Nunnery  with  the  holy  Sisters,  they  appeared  to  have 
no  Disposition  unfriendly  toward  the  Colonies  but  chose 
rather  to  stand  nuter.'35 

One  accustomed  to  the  ways  of  the  Catholic  clergy 
would  perhaps  have  been  less  ready  to  draw  the  infer 
ence;  yet  it  was  true  that  the  parish  priests,  rising  from 
the  mass  of  common  people,  had  no  little  sympathy  with 
their  class,  and  a  letter  from  Montreal,  speaking  of  the  plan 
to  raise  a  Canadian  army,  said,  '  the  Priests  we  are  assured 
disapprove  of  it.'  But  the  opinions  of  the  cures  had  little 
weight  indeed  in  determining  the  policy  of  the  Church. 
4  The  bishop  is  the  only  person  in  the  province  he  seems 
to  pay  any  particular  attention  to,'  said  Caldwell  of  the 

1  4  §  Montreal  letter  in  N.  Y.  Journal,  Nov.  10,  1774  Hev  to 
Aug.  28,  1775:  Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Colon.  Corres.,  Quebec*'  IS  ,/  £. 
TraveK  I.,  p  72  Walker  to  S.  Adams,  Apr.  8  J£s!  Mkss.'  Arch5, 


15  §  Brown:  Mass.  Arch.,  Vol.  193,  p.  41. 
VOL.  i.  —  14. 


2io  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

Governor;  and  of  course  a  return  for  all  such  favor  was 
expected.  First,  circular  letters  directed  all  the  parish 
priests  to  send  the  names  of  proper  men  for  captains  of 
militia,  bailiffs,  and  town-keepers.  Then  the  Bishop  was 
requested  to  influence  the  Canadians  to  take  up  arms; 
and,  while  he  demurred  to  so  martial  a  step,  as  not 
proper  for  the  Church,  he  addressed  a  Man  dement  '  To 
All  the  People  of  this  Province '  which  signified  about  the 
same. l6 

'A  troop  of  subjects  in  revolt  against  their  lawful 
Sovereign — who  is  at  the  same  time  ours,'  declared  His 
Reverence,  'have  just  made  an  irruption  into  this  Prov 
ince,  less  in  the  hope  of  maintaining  themselves  here 
than  with  a  view  of  dragging  you  into  their  revolt  or  at 
least  to  prevent  you  from  opposing  their  pernicious 
design.  The  remarkable  goodness  and  gentleness  with 
which  we  have  been  governed  by  His  Very  Gracious 
Majesty  King  George  the  Third  since  the  fortune  of  war 
subjected  us  to  his  rule;  the  recent  favors  with  which  he 
has  loaded  us  ...  would  no  doubt  be  enough  to  excite 
your  gratitude  and  zeal  in  support  of  the  interests  of  the 
British  Crown.  But  motives  even  more  urgent  must 
speak  to  your  heart  at  the  present  moment.  Your  oaths, 
your  religion  lay  upon  you  the  unavoidable  duty  of 
defending  your  country  and  your  King  with  all  the 
strength  you  possess.'  This  Mandement,  says  Tetu, 
'  ensured  to  the  English  all  the  influence  of  the  clergy.'17 

At  the  same  time,  those  mightiest  of  arguments,  events, 
began  to  be  felt  in  Canada.  One  day  a  letter  addressed 
to  her  husband  was  handed  Mrs.  Walker.  She  dutifully 


16  §  Montreal  letter  in  Essex  Gazette,  Mar.  14,  1775.  Caldwell:  Note  8. 
T6tu,  EvSques  (p.  307),  attributes  the  passage  of  the  Quebec  Act  largely  to  the 
•  extraordinary  ascendancy '  of  the  Bishop  over  the  Governor ;  but  this 
language  seems  far  too  strong.  Demur:  Maseres  to  Shelburne,  Aug.  24,  1775 
(Bancroft  Coll.,  Eng.  and  Am.,  Aug.,  iy75-Dec.,  1776,  p.  25);  Gordon,  U.  S.,  I., 
pp.  923,  (324.  Mandement  (in  French),  May  22,  1775:  Tetu,  Ev£ques,  p.  326. 

i?  T€tu,  Evgques,  p.  327.    See  Smith,  Canada,  II.,  p.  74. 


News  of  the  Events  at  the  Lakes         211 

opened  it  and  read :  '  I  Breakfast  here  &  expect  soon  to 
see  you  &  my  friends  at  Montreal,' — Benedict  Arnold, 
Ticonderoga.  Close  to  the  Canadian  border,  war  had 
begun;  and  soon  both  Arnold  and  Allen  crossed  the 
frontier.  At  first,  only  distorted  news  of  their  doings 
arrived.  Rumors  were  many,  facts  but  few.  Caldwell 
heard  at  Quebec  that  one  Allen  'had  a  Commission  from 
the  Congress  under  Arnold,'  and  'headed  a  Number  of 
freebooters  &  outlaws  that  live  at  a  place  called  the 
Green  Mountains.'18 

On  May  the  nineteenth,  in  the  evening,  a  ship  from 
Boston  dropped  anchor  under  the  guns  of  Quebec,  and  at 
last  Carleton  received  Gage's  order  to  send  troops  to 
Lake  Champlain.  He  began  at  once  to  plan  the  business; 
but  the  next  morning  a  tired,  travel-stained  countryman 
toiled  up  the  bluff,  and  presented  himself  at  the  Castle 
gate.  It  was  Moses  Hazen,  a  half-pay  captain  settled 
very  near  St.  Johns;  and  he  brought  the  first  news  both 
of  Arnold's  visit  there  and  of  the  events  to  the  southward. 
During  the  next  evening,  tidings  of  Allen's  raid  came 
by  express.19 

Two  days  later  Carleton  left  Quebec  for  the  west.  The 
Fusiliers  at  the  capital  marched  up  the  St.  Lawrence. 
Captain  Strong  and  the  small  garrison  of  Three  Rivers 
hurried  off  the  same  way.  'The  Consternation  in  the 
Towns  and  Country  was  great  and  universal,'  admitted 
the  Governor.  Alarming  stories  trod  on  one  another's 
heels.  Arnold  had  told  Captain  Hazen,  it  was  rumored, 
that  fifteen  hundred  or  two  thousand  men  followed  him; 
and  he  certainly  did  write  Walker  a  week  or  so  later  that 
he  had  about  a  thousand  soldiers  at  Crown  Point  and 
Ticonderoga,  with  the  expectation  of  two  thousani  more 


i  s  §  Mrs.  Walker,  Journal.    Caldwell :  Note  8. 

19  §  Carleton  to  Dartmouth,  June  7,  1775:  Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Colon.  Corres., 
Quebec,  u,  p.  283.     Mrs.  Walker,  Journal.     Hazen:  Liv.,  Journal,  Nov.  21. 


2 1 2  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

'in  a  few  Days.'  Allen  was  reported  as  commanding 
three  hundred  at  St.  Johns,  and  nine  hundred  more  a 
short  distance  away.  Ainslie,  the  Collector  of  Customs 
at  Quebec,  heard  of  its  being  '  openly  said '  at  Albany, 
that  the  '  friends  of  Liberty  '  would  penetrate  as  far  as 


LORD   NORTH 

possible  into  Canada  during  the  summer.  Indeed,  it  was 
rumored  that  'a  complete  conquest'  of  the  province  was 
to  be  made.  Word  came  that  the  captors  of  the  forts 
were  hanging  Tories.  They  seemed  violent  and  danger 
ous  fellows;  and  their  performances  did  not  look  much 
like  friendship  and  union.  The  New  Hampshire  Con 
gress  received  notice  from  a  prominent  citizen,  in  close 


Efforts  to  Reassure  the  Canadians       213 

touch  with    the  north,  that  the    Canadians    felt  greatly 
alarmed. 2 

Then  set  in  a  roll  the  other  way.  Arnold,  it  became 
known,  had  remained  only  a  few  hours  at  St.  Johns. 
Allen's  reassuring  message  to  the  Montreal  merchants 
had  its  effect.  The  Continental  Congress  declared  that 
the  forts  had  been  seized  merely  for  the  sake  of  self- 
defence.  On  the  twenty-fifth  of  May,  the  Congress  of 
New  York, fearing  'evil-minded  persons'  might  insinuate 
that  the  patriots  had  '  hostile  intentions  against  our  fellow- 
subjects  in  Canada,'  voted  that  it  would  consider  any 
attack  upon  these  brethren  '  as  infamous,  and  highly 
inimical  to  all  the  American  Colonies.'  As  soon  as 
possible,  a  soothing  Letter  to  the  Canadians  received  the 
sanction  of  the  Congress,  and  two  thousand  copies  were 
ordered  to  be  distributed  among  them  with  all  possible 
despatch.  'We  consider  you  as  our  friends,'  it  said,  'and 
we  feel  for  you  the  affection  of  brothers.'  Hinman 
received  orders  'to  keep  up  the  strictest  vigilance  to  pre. 
vent  any  hostile  incursions  from  being  made  into  the 
settlements  of  the  province  of  Quebec';  and,  on  the  first 
of  June,  the  Continental  Congress  itself  passed  a  resolu 
tion  to  that  effect,  ordering  a  translation  of  it  in  French 
to  be  distributed  among  the  Canadians.21 

Three  days  later,  Allen  and  Kaston  sent  a  long  peal  of 
their  own— or  rather,  of  Allen's  own— across  the  border: 
'People  of  Canada,  Greeting;  Friends  &  fellow  Country 
men  .  .  .  Hostilities  have  already  begun — To  fight  the 
King's  Troops  has  become  a  necessary  &  incumbent 
duty — The  Colonies  cannot  avoid  it.  But  pray  is  it 

2°  §  Carleton:  Note  19.    Caldwell:  Note  8.     Ursul.  de.   T.  Riv.,  I.,  p.  362. 
Verreau,  Invasion  (Sangumet),  p.  28  ;   (Badeaux),  p.  165.     Arnold  to  Walker 
May  24:  Can.  Arch.,  Q,  n,  p.  196.     Ainslie,  Journal  (Introduction).     Precis  of 
Oper.  Conquest:  Maseres  to  Shelburne,  Aug.  24,  i775  (MSS.  of  Marq    of  tans 
downe,  Vol.  66,  fo.  u3).     Wheelock  to  N.  H.  Cong.,  June  28:  4  Force,  II.,  1541. 

21  §  Carleton:  Note  19.  N.  Y. :  4  Force,  II.,  1252,  893,  1270.  Hinman: 
Trumbull  to  N.  Y.  Cong.,  May  29,  i775  (Journ.  Mass.  Cong.,  p.  709).  Journ. 
Cong.,  June  i,  i77s. 


214  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

necessary  that  the  Canadians  &  the  inhabitants  of  the 
English  Colonies  should  butcher  one  another — God  forbid, 
there  are  no  controversies  subsisting  between  you  &  them. 
Nay  let  old  England  &  the  Colonies  fight  it  out  &  you 
Canadians  stand  by  &  see  what  an  arm  of  flesh  can  do — ' 
About  a  week  more,  and  Massachusetts,  after  begging  the 
Continental  Congress  to  reassure  the  Canadians,  wrote 
the  other  New  England  governments  in  a  similar  strain; 
while,  about  the  same  time,  New  York  addressed  the 
1  Gentlemen  merchants  of  the  Province  of  Quebec '  with  a 
view  to  the  establishing  of  a  regular  post,  and  declared 
that  in  prosecuting  the  idea  of  freedom  she  included  her 
'  brethren  the  inhabitants  of  the  Province  of  Quebeck,  as 
far  as  would  consist  with  the  utmost  of  their  wishes.'  " 

Meanwhile  Jay,  Samuel  Adams,  and  Deane  prepared  an 
Address  to  the  Oppressed  Inhabitants  of  Canada;  and  the 
Grand  Congress,  after  calling  in  'a  gentleman  in  town,' 
who  could  give  'a  full  and  just  account  of  the  state  of 
Affairs  in  Canada,'  endorsed  it.  " 

1  By  the  introduction  of  your  present  form  of  govern 
ment,  or  rather  present  form  of  tyranny,  you  and  your 
wives  and  your  children  are  made  slaves,'  it  was  argued. 
'  You  have  nothing  that  you  can  call  your  own,  and  all 
the  fruits  of  your  labor  and  industry  may  be  taken  from 
you,  whenever  an  avaritious  governor  and  a  rapacious 
council  may  incline  to  demand  them.  You  are  liable  by 
their  edicts  to  be  transported  into  foreign  countries  to 
fight  Battles  in  which  you  have  no  interest.  .  .  .  Nay, 
the  enjoyment  of  your  very  religion,  on  the  present 
system,  depends  on  a  legislature  in  which  you  have  no 
share,  and  over  which  you  have  no  controul.  .  .  .  We 
can  never  believe  that  the  present  race  of  Canadians  are 


22  s  Allen  and  Kaston:  Sparks  MSS.,  No.   29,  p.  284.    Mass.  Cong.,  June 
13:  4  Force,  II.,  1410,  etc.     N.  Y.,  June  12:  4  Force,  II.,  1294. 

23  &  journ.  Cong.,  May  26,  27,  29.    The  letter  was  drafted  by  Jay  (Johnston, 
Jay,  I.,  p.  32).    The  'gentleman  in  town  '  was  probably  Price. 


Efforts  to  Reassure  the  Canadians       215 

so  degenerated  as  to  possess  neither  the  spirit,  the  gal 
lantry,  nor  the  courage  of  their  ancestors.  .  .  .  We,  for 
our  parts,  are  determined  to  live  free,  or  not  at  all;  and 
are  resolved,  that  posterity  shall  never  reproach  us  with 
having  brought  slaves  into  the  world.' 

As  for  the  hostilities  on  the  lakes,  '  Permit  us  again  to 
repeat  that  we  are  your  friends,  not  your  enemies.'  '  The 
great  law  of  self-preservation '  dictated  what  was  done. 
Besides,  those  forts  were  intended  '  to  cut  off  that  friendly 
intercourse  and  communication,  which  has  hitherto 
subsisted  between  you  and  us.'  '  These  colonies  will 
pursue  no  measures  whatever,  but  such  as  friendship  and 
a  regard  fcr  our  mutual  safety  and  interest  may  suggest.' 

Yet  good- will  deserves  a  return.  'As  our  concern  for 
your  welfare  entitles  us  to  your  friendship,  we  presume 
you  will  not,  by.  doing  us  injury,  reduce  us  to  the 
disagreeable  necessity  of  treating  you  as  enemies.  We  yet 
entertain  hopes  of  your  uniting  with  us  in  the  defenceof  our 
common  liberty,  and  there  is  yet  reason  to  believe,  that 
should  we  join  in  imploring  the  attention  of  our  sovereign 
to  the  unmerited  and  unparalleled  oppressions  of  his 
American  subjects,  he  will  at  length  be  undeceived,  and 
forbid  a  licentious  Ministry  any  longer  to  riot  in  the  ruins 
of  the  rights  of  Mankind.'  Dickinson  and  Mifflin  had 
the  Address  translated,  and  a  thousand  copies  were 
struck  off,  to  be  scattered  in  Canada.  " 

And  what  effect  had  all  this  in  the  north?  Old 
animosities  and  new  enmities;  conflicts  of  race,  religion, 
caste,  and  party;  jealousies,  ambitions,  disappointments, 
insults;  the  terrors  of  the  Church,  the  authority  of 
government,  the  dread  of  despotism,  the  magical  name  of 
liberty;  dangers  on  all  sides,  menaces  from  all  parties, 
war  actually  at  the  door, — how  were  the  people 
making  up  their  minds  ? 

24  §  Journ.  Cong.,  May  29. 


216  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 


The  British  anti-government  party,  the  party  of  remon 
strance  and  petition,  soon  found  itself  broken  to  pieces. 
Some,  like  Walker,  still  believed  that  only  the  success  of 
the  Colonies  would  free  them  from  the  'jealous  Fears  and 
Apprehensions  '  that  robbed  them  of  their  peace,  and  like 
him  dared  assure  people  that  'the  Boston ians  would  harm 
no  one,  except  those  who  took  up  arms  against  them'; 
and  some  reflected  that  the  Colonies  had  it  in  their  power, 
as  a  correspondent  of  Maseres  pointed  out,  'to  harass  the 
Country,  destroy  the  best  corn  parishes,  and  ruin  the  Indian 
trade,' — the  chief  resources  of  the  province.  But  there 
were  others  who  repented  heartily  of  their  opposition  to 

the  g°vernment,  now 
that  opposition  seemed 
to  be  ending  in  re 
volt.  'Grumbletonians* 
against  the  Quebec  Act, 
they  had  intended,  as 
the  loyalist  Ainslie  said, 
to  rouse  the  country  for 
repeal,  not  for  rebellion. 
Still  others  were  dom 
inated  by  timidity,  con 
servatism,  fears  about 
their  property,  or  per 
sonal  influences;  and 
some  held  aloof  deli 
berately,  to  see  which 
side  of  the  fence  would 
prove  the  more  agree 
able.  The  old  difficulty 

— that  non-importation  agreement — still  raised  a  bar 
between  the  British  merchants  and  the  United  Colonies; 
and,  in  addition,  the  Congress  had  recently  forbidden  all 
exporting  to  Nova  Scotia,  St.  John's  Island,  or  New- 


THOMAS  WALKER'S  HOUSE 


Course  of  the  British-Canadians  2 1 7 

foundland,  and  all  furnishing  of  supplies  to  the  British 
fisheries  on  the  coast,— another  obstacle  to  trade,  should 
Canada  join -the  league.36 

To  tell  the  truth,  however,  this  failure  of  the  British  in 
Quebec  and  Montreal  to  support  the  American  side  as  a 
body  counted  for  little.  They  possessed  no  great  material 
strength.  'We  have  neither  Numbers,  nor  Wealth 
sufficient  to  do  you  any  essential  Service/  Walker 
admitted.20  Ideas  were  their  power.  They  weighed 
mainly  as  an  educational  force;  and  now,  precisely  when 
they  had  taken  the  Canadians  through  their  whole  cur 
riculum,  the  closing-bell  of  school- work  sounded,  the  hour 
for  action  struck. 

Yet  they  still  had  one  or  two  parting  lessons  to  give, 
by  way  of  valedictory.  Carleton,  hastening  to  Montreal 
and  ordering  his  few  troops  '  to  assemble  at  or  near  St. 
John's,'  endeavored  to  organize  a  defence.  The  gentry 
showed  great  zeal,  and  some  of  the  younger  men  took 
post,  as  a  volunteer  body,  at  the  front.  The  British  also 
waved  the  flag.  A  deputation  waited  upon  the  Governor 
at  Montreal,  assuring  him  they  were  ready  to  form  in 
line  at  a  moment's  warning  for  the  defence  of  the  city; 
and  upon  that  he  issued  commissions  to  three  of  the 
merchants.  But  the  commissions  were  declined:  'their 
affairs  would  not  admit  of  it.'  '  They  had  only  meant  to 
take  up  arms  as  volunteers,  but  not  to  subject  themselves 
to  be  ordered  out  away  from  their  families  and  affairs 
upon  every  false  alarm.'  Neither  did  they  relish  the  idea 
of  ^  going  out  on  a  wild  goose  chase,  with  full  assurance  of 
being  overpowered  and  drawing  the  resentment  of  all  the 
colonies'  upon  them.  The  Governor  felt  very  deeply 
incensed,  particularly  that  such  an  example  should  be 

2s  §  walker :  Note  9.    Deposition  of  Deschamp  (in  French)  •  Can    Arch 

,fJ A  ?'    &^6'    £C"er  t0  Maseres'  -Tune  22'  '775:  Note  12.    Ainslie,  Journal 
(Introd.).    Tetu,  Eveques,  p.  327.    Journ.  Cong     May  17 
2  6  Walker :  Note  9. 


218   Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

set  the  French;  and  he  said  something  that  went  about 
as  a  threat  to  burn  the  city  and  retire  to  Quebec.  'We 
will  carry  as  much  fire  as  he,'  retorted  some  of  the 
merchants;  and  that  was  no  doubt  exactly  true.  " 

But  what  of  the  Canadians,  the  real  Canada?  What 
ideas  were  circulating  under  the  thatch  of  their  cabins 
and  the  thatch  of  their  heads?  Was  the  weight  of  that 
province  to  back  up  the  remonstrances  of  the  Colonies? 
Was  America  to  be  a  unit  in  resisting  the  Ministers  ? 
Were  ten  thousand  Canadian  bayonets  to  wheel  into 
line  with  the  Continentals  at  the  trump  of  war?  Or  were 
these  levies,  stiffened  by  regulars  and  flanked  by  the 
Indians,  to  sweep  across  the  lakes,  descend  the  Hudson, 
cut  the  chain  of  Colonies,  and  end  the  revolt  ?  Not  only 
had  Carleton  reckoned  upon  them,  and  North  brandished 
them  as  thunderbolts  at  the  Americans,  but  Gage  was 
already  laying  plans  for  their  march.  On  the  twelfth  of 
June,  he  recommended  to  Dartmouth  that  fifteen  thou 
sand  men,  including  Canadians,  hunters,  and  Indians,  be 
employed  'on  this  side/  ten  thousand  on  the  side  of  New 
York,  and  seven  thousand,  including  '  a  large  Corps  of 
Canadians  and  Indians  ...  on  the  side  of  L,ake  Cham- 
plain.'  28 

Apollo  himself  might  have  hesitated  to  declare  the 
omens.  Carleton  did  not  pretend  to  read  them.  'I  have 
many  Doubts  whether  I  shall  be  able  to  succeed  '  in 
raising  a  Canadian  battalion,  he  confessed.  At  Montreal, 
on  the  very  first  sign  of  organizing  the  people,  there  was 
great  opposition  in  one  of  the  suburbs,  and  the  officers  who 


27  §  Carleton  to  Dartmouth,  June  7,  1775:  Pub.  Rec.  Off.,   Colon.   Corres., 
Quebec   n,    p.   283.      Verreau    (Sanguinet),    Invasion,    pp.    31-33.      Letter  to 
Maseres,  June  22,  1775:  Note  12.    Hay's  report,  through  Swart:  4  Force,  II., 
1048.     Arnold's  information   to  Trumbu.l :  Journ.  Mass.   Cong.,  p.  372.      See 
Arnold  to  Cont.  Cong.,  June  13,  1775:  4  Force,  II..  976. 

28  §  Carleton  (to  Shelburne,  Nov.  25,  1767:  Can.  Arch.,  Report  for  1888,  p. 
lOsaid  the  Canadians  could  put  18,000  bayonets  into  the  field ;  but  his  estimate 
of  the  population  (150,000:  Cavendish,  Debates,  p.   103)  was  much  too  large. 
Gage,  June  12,  1775:  Bancroft  Coll.,  Eng.  and  Am.,  Jan.-Aug.,  1775,  p.  275. 


The  Governor  Decides  219 

undertook  to  make  a  list  of  the  men  came  near  being 
stoned  by  their  wives.  It  was  evident  now,  the  Governor 
understood,  that  both  gentry  and  clergy  had  *  lost  much 
of  their  Influence  over  the  people.'  'He  may  indeed  be 
puzzeled  a  little,'  admitted  even  the  unfriendly  Caldwell. 
Still,  added  Caldwell,  'ever  accustomd  to  Receive  the 
King's  orders  with  Respect  &  obey  them  with  Alacrity 
they  will  I  think  turn  out  when  Orderd.'  'Their 
ideas, '  the  Chief- Justice  of  Canada  had  testified  before  the 
House  of  Commons;  'Their  ideas  are  a  perfect  submission 
to  the  Crown.'  Les  Ordres  du  Roi, — how  could  instincts, 
traditions,  and  habits  fail  to  respond?  29 

The  Governor  pondered.  One  thing  was  certain,  he 
reflected:  'For  my  Part  since  my  Return  to  this  Prov 
ince,  I  have  seen  good  Cause  to  repent  my  having  ever 
recommended  the  Habeas  Corpus  Act  [in  criminal  cases] 
and  English  Criminal  Laws.  .  .  To  render  the  Colony  of 
that  Advantage  to  Great  Britain,  it  certainly  is  capable 
of,  would  require  the  reintroducing  the  French  Criminal 
Law,  and  all  the  Powers  of  its  Government.'  But 
powers  as  great  lay  in  his  hand:  why  not  use  them? 
Why  not  have  military  rule,  as  after  the  Conquest  ?  That 
was  precisely  what  the  noblesse  advised:  '  the  only  thing,' 
they  said,  that  could  possibly  reform  the  people,  *  and 
bring  them  back  to  the  good  old  habits.'  The  Governor 
pondered  long;  he  was  a  soldier;  he  was  an  honest  and 
able  administrator :  he  believed  in  strong,  efficient  rule  ; 
and  finally,  on  the  ninth  of  June,  with  all  the  thunders  of 
his  great  authority,  he  spoke.30 


2  9  §  Carleton  to  Dartmouth,  June  7,  1775 :   Note  27.    Caldwell  to ,  May 

— ,  1775:    Note  8.      Montreal:    Verreau  (Sanguinet),  Invasion,   p.   -34       Hev 
Cavendish,  Debates,  p.  145. 

3  °  §  Carleton  to  Dartmouth,  June  7,  1775 :  Note  27.    Maseres  to  Shelburne 
Aug.  24,  1775:  MSS.  of  Marq.  of  I^ansdowne,  Vol.  66,  fo.  113. 


VIII 
CONGRESS  HESITATES  BUT  CROSSES 

*  DY  his  Excellency  Guy  Carleton,  Captain-General  and 
"^~^    Governour-in-  Chief  in  and  over  the  Province  of  Quebec, 

.  .  Vice- Admiral  of  the  same,  and  Major-General  of  His 
Majesty" s  Forces,  commanding  the  Northern  District:  A 
Proclamation  .  .  .  To  the  end,  therefore,  that  so  treasonable 
an  invasion  may  be  soon  defeated;  that  all  such  traitors,  with 
their  said  abetters,  may  be  speedily  brought  to  justice,  and 
the  publick  peace  and  tranquillity  of  this  Province  again  re 
stored,  which  the  ordinary  course  of  the  civil  law  is  at 
present  unable  to  effect,  .  .  .  /  shall  .  .  .  execute  martial 
law,  and  cause  the  same  to  be  executed  throughout  this  Prov 
ince,  and  to  that  end,  I  shall  order  the  Militia  within  the 
same  to  be  forthwith  raised.  .  .  .  Given  under  my  hand 
and  seal  of  arms  at  Montreal,  this  gilt  day  of  Jime,  1775. M 

Long  and  loud,  from  one  end  of  Quebec  to  the  other, 
rolled  the  thunders  of  this  proclamation;  and,  as  the 
echoes  faded  away,  all,  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest, 
looked  anxiously  for  the  consequences. 

Carleton  himself  saw  little  to  reassure  him.  'I  have 
proclaimed  the  Martial  law,  and  ordered  the  Militia  to 
be  enrolled;  what  I  shall  be  able  to  make  of  them,  or  of 
the  Savages,  I  cannot  yet  positively  say,  but  I  am  sure  it 
is  become  highly  necessary  to  try  ' :  so  he  wrote  some  two 
weeks  later.2 

1  4  Force,  II.,  940. 

2  Carleton  to  Dartmouth,  June  26,  1775:    Pub.  Rec.    Off.,  Colon.  Corres., 
Quebec,  u,  p,  309. 

220 


Martial  Law  in  Canada  221 

Naturally  the  noblesse  and  the  ultra  loyalists  applaud 
ed  the  measure;  but  the  moderate  liberals  condemned  it 
vigorously.  'And  now,  to  crown  the  whole  of  our  mis 
fortunes,  the  Governor  has  established  martial  law/ 
exclaimed  a  British-Canadian  to  Maseres;  '  The  Forts 
which  the  Provincials  have  taken  possession  of  are  out  of 
this  Province.  It  is  true  a  few  of  them  came  about  St. 
John's  armed;  but  they  did  not  in  the  least  molest  the 
Canadians.  A  very  small  pretext  this  for  establishing 
that  which  is  most  of  all  things  to  be  dreaded  Martial 
Law,  which  is  rarely  executed  but  in  times  of  war,  and 
on  certain  assurance  of  an  invasion  from  some  enemy. 
But  we  are  so  situated  that  we  have  nothing  to  fear  from 
the  Colonies  unless  we  molest  them  first,  which  in  com 
mon  prudence  we  ought  to  avoid,  unless  we  had  a  regular 
force  to  defend  us.'3 

How  Walker's  party  would  feel  could  easily  be  foretold. 
Besides  temperamental  opposition  and  their  objections  on 
the  ground  of  their  legal  rights,  they  had  reasonable  fears 
for  their  personal  safety  under  a  military  regime,  and,  as 
merchants,  they  no  doubt  protested,  as  they  had  done 
before,  that  it  would  ruin  the  province  to  take  even  two 
thousand  men  from  the  ranks  of  labor.4  In  short,  a 
great  part,  probably  the  major  part,  of  the  British 
population  ranged  themselves  against  the  measure, 
and  some,  by  loud  and  indignant  outcries  against  the 
government,  set  one  more  brilliant  example  before  their 
French  neighbors. 

By  this  time  their  previous  lessons  had  been  well  conned. 
Of  late,  days  and  even  hours  had  counted  in  the  rapid  pro 
cess  of  education.  The  face  of  an  afternoon  sky  hardly 
changed  more  imperceptibly  or  faster  than  the  spirit  of 

3  Letter  to  Maseres,  June  22,  1775 :  Bancroft  Coll.,  Eng.  and  Am.,  Jan.-Aug., 
*775>  P-  482. 

4  Montreal  letter:  N.  Y.  Journal,  Nov.  10,  1774,  p.  3. 


222   Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

the  habitants.  The  Governor  himself  painted  the  Cana 
dian  portrait  only  two  days  before  signing  his  proclama 
tion:  '  all  subordination  overset,  and  the  Minds  of 
the  People  poisoned  by  the  same  Hypocrisy  and  Lies 
practiced  with  so  much  Success  in  the  other  Provinces, 
and  which  their  Emissaries  and  Friends  here  have  spread 
abroad  with  great  Art  and  Diligence';  and  not  even  a 


r 


MOUTH   OF   THE   OUTLET  OF   LAKE   GEORGE 

family  resemblance  could  be  traced  between  this  and  the 
well  attested  likenesses  of  1774.* 

The  people  now,  so  Ainslie  noted  in  his  Journal,  f  were 
brought  to  believe  that  the  Minister  had  laid  a  plan  to 
enslave  them,  &  to  make  them  the  instrument  of  enslav 
ing  all  the  neighboring  Provinces,  that  they  would  be 
continually  at  War,  far  removed  from  their  wives  & 

5  Carleton   to  Dartmouth,  June  7,   1775:   Pub.  Rec.  Off.,   Colon,  Corres., 
Quebec,  n,  p.  283.    The  picture  shows  the  Outlet  at  the  right. 


Canadian  Feeling  223 

families.'  Nothing  could  have  excited  them  more.  The 
captain  of  the  French  militia  at  Montreal  said  to  the 
Governor:  '  The  Canadians  in  this  town,  we  included, 
will  not  take  arms  as  a  Militia,  unless  your  Excellency 
will  promise  us,  on  your  honour,  to  use  your  utmost 
endeavours  for  the  repeal  of  the  Quebeck  Bill ' ;  at  least, 
James  Finlay  stated  publicly  that  he  heard  these  words 
pass,  and  people  believed  him.  In  April  that  keen 
observer,  Thomas  Walker,  had  lamented  that  the  hab 
itants,  whatever  their  feelings,  dared  not  raise  a  finger 
to  help  the  Colonies,  '  being  of  no  more  Estimation  in  the 
political  Machine  than  the  Sailors  arc,  in  shaping  the 
Course  or  working  the  ship  in  which  they  sail.'  'They 
may  mutter  and  swear,'  he  said,  'but  must  Obey:  how 
ever,  should  Government  handle  them  too  roughly,  & 
arbitrarily  attempt  to  force  them  upon  dangerous  and 
disagreeable  Service,  to  which  they  have  already  shewn 
irreconcileable  Aversion,  they  [the  government]  may 
perhaps  dearly  repent  it.'  That  attempt  had  now  been 
made.6 

The  method  of  enforcing  the  decree  softened  it  little. 
The  theory  of  the  Administration  was  that  the  peasants 
owed  military  service  to  the  gentry,  and  the  gentry  to 
the  Crown;  and  that  failure  to  perform  it  in  a  case  like 
the  present  would  destroy  the  title  to  their  lands.7  For 
their  own  part,  the  nobles  accepted  the  responsibility. 
Besides  their  traditional  military  hostility  toward  the 
Colonies,  their  desire  for  war,  their  new  loyalty  to  the 
Crown,  their  ardent  expectations,  and  their  dislike  of 
every  American  institution, — social,  political,  anc 
religious, — they  now  had  a  fresh  reason  to  hate  the  Colo 
nials:  the  spirit  of  independence  that  had  blown  upon  the 


6  §  Ainslie,    Journal  (IntrodA      Finlay:    Maseres,    Add.   Papers,  p.    106. 
Walker  to  S.  Adams,  Apr.  8,  1775 :  Mass.  Arch.,  Vol.  193,  p.  83. 

7  Smith,  Canada,  II.,  p.  74. 


224  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

peasants  from  across  the  border.  Calling  the  people 
together,  they  explained  what  was  required.  Confident 
and  haughty,  they  spared  not;  and  once  more,  as  of  old, 
the  habitants  were  treated  to  frowns,  harsh  words,  and 
threatening  gestures,  as  well  as  to  arguments  and 
expostulations.8 

On  the  other  side  of  the  people  stood  the  United  Colo 
nies  with  a  smiling  face  and  open  arms.  '  From  the 
impressions  made  by  these  seditious  people  [the  British 
malcontents],'  Ainslie  had  observed,  'the Canadians  look 
upon  the  Rebels  as  their  best  friends,  &  are  ready  to 
receive  them  as  the  asserters  of  their  rights  &  liberties  ' ; 
'they  appear' d  to  be  thoroughly  tinctur'd  with  the  true 
spirit  of  Rebellion.'  And  now  had  come  the  proclama 
tion  and  the  orders  of  the  noblesse,  compelling  them  to 
turn  feelings  into  acts.  The  indifferent  were  alarmed  and 
the  compromised  had  to  take  a  stand,  as  Tetu  has  said; 
and,  as  for  the  timid,  they  reflected  that  the  King  had 
only  a  few  hundreds  of  redcoats  in  Canada,  while  the 
Americans  were  expected  back  with  ten  or  perhaps  fifty 
times  as  large  a  force.  People  whispered  that  soon  a 
great  host  would  rush  from  the  woods  ;  and  already  small 
parties  were  reported  here  and  there  on  the  south  side  of 
the  St.  Lawrence.9 

Besides  the  clergy  and  noblesse,  most  of  the  lawyers 
declared  for  the  Crown,  but  all  these  together  were  only 
a  few  trees  resisting  a  flood.  Yet  the  Canadians,  however 
disaffected,  did  not  organize  and  revolt.  Such  was  not 
their  style.  They  declared  they  were  a  loyal,  simple, 
quiet  folk;  they  did  not  understand  all  this  trouble;  they 
would  prove  their  fidelity  by  remaining  peaceably  at 
home,  and  defending  the  province  against  attacks. 


s  K.  g.,  see  Maseres,  Add.  Papers,  p.  105.    Illustrations  will  be  given  later. 
9  §  Ainslie,  Journal  (Introd.).    Tetu,  Evgques,  p.  328.      Carleton  to  Dart 
mouth,  June  26 :  Note  2. 


Inviting  Reports  from  Canada         227 

Only — should  it  be  necessary  to  take  up  arms,  they  would 
not  obey  the  gentry;  some  of  their  own  number  or  some 
of  the  half-pay  British  officers  living  in  Canada  must  be 
set  over  them.  And — for  the  present,  they  did  not  care 
to  engage  at  all.  Loyal,  indeed!  Ordres  du  Roi!  Trans 
lated  into  English,  this  French  politeness  all  meant,  We  will 
not  obey.  The  proclamation  had  failed  to  rally  an  army 
round  the  banner  of  the  King,  and  it  was  useless  for 
Cramahe,  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  to  gnash  his  teeth  on 
the  '  damned  Committees  '  of  the  British  traders,  which, 
he  said,  prevented  the  Canadians  from  taking  up  arms. 
Their  work  had  been  done,  and  no  threats  could 
undo  it.10 

Truth  to  tell,  Carleton  had  made  a  mistake.  Reason 
ing  soundly  from  the  information  available,  he  had 
credited  both  clergy  and  noblesse  with  more  power  than 
really  they  possessed.  He  had  supposed  the  masses  less 
self-willed  and  less  influenced  by  the  British  element  than 
actually  they  were.  But  so  had  Governor  Murray  erred 
before  him  when  he  wrote:  'could  they  be  indulged  with 
a  few  privileges  wch  the  laws  of  England  deny  to 
Roman  Catholics  at  home,'  they  'would  soon  become  the 
most  faithful  and  most  useful  set  of  Men  in  this  American 
Empire';  quite  as  deeply  misjudged  the  great  Pitt, 
a  few  years  later  (1791),  when  he  resolved  to  separate 
Canada  into  a  French  part  and  a  British  part,  and  no  less 
erred  the  profound  Burke,  who,  though  Pitt's  political 
opponent,  rose  from  his  seat  in  the  Commons  to  praise 
the  wisdom  of  this  design.  When  the  chill  of  the  iceberg 
is  felt,  when  the  night  suddenly  parts,  when  the  huge, 
towering  mountain  of  crystal  rises  before  the  ship,  any- 


10  §  Lawyers:  Garneau,  Canada,  III.,  p.  2.  Maseres  to  Shelburne,  Aug. 
24,  1775:  MSS.  of  Marq.  of  I,ansdowne,  Vol.  66,  fo.  113.  Annual  Register,  1775, 
p.  139.  Gordon,  U  S.,  I.  p.  423.  Hey  to  Chancellor,  Aug.  28,  1775  :  Pub.  Rec. 
Off.,  Colon.  Corres.,  Quebec.,  12,  p.  365.  Cramahg:  Better  from  Quebec, 
Nov.  9,  1775  (4  Force,  III.,  1417-) 


228  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

body  can  say  where  danger  lies;  but  an  instant  earlier  no 
one  could  have  pointed  it  out.  Only  the  event  could  tell 
what  the  people  would  do,  and  now  it  had  spoken.  Even 
with  the  proclamation  thundering  over  their  heads,  the 
mass  of  the  Canadians  at  Montreal  refused  to  enter  the 
militia;  and  the  utmost  that  noblesse  and  clergy  together 
could  accomplish,  as  Tetu,  the  historian  of  the  Canadian 
bishops  has  admitted,  was  to  keep  the  majority  of  the 
people  from  turning  into  active  rebels.  " 

The  majority!  That  implies  a  minority.  Were  some 
really  preparing  to  take  a  vigorous  part  against  the 
government  ? 

Private  letters  received  in  St.  John's  (now  Prince 
Edward's)  Island  represented  the  Canadians  as  saying 
that  the  King  had  broken  his  word  by  taking  away  the 
English  laws,  and  therefore  they  had  a  right  to  renounce 
their  allegiance.  Not  long  after  the  proclamation 
appeared,  two  New  Hampshire  agents  reported:  They 
1  Determine  Not  to  take  their  old  Law  again,  if  we  will 
but  Joyn  with  them  they  will  Joyn  with  us  ' ;  and  no  doubt 
many  such  confidences  passed  over  the  glasses,  with  nods 
and  grasps  of  the  hand,  when  American  traders  and 
scouts  hobnobbed  with  Jacques  and  Pierre  at  one  of  the 
little  taverns  under  the  elms.  Hints  of  the  same  kind 
appear  to  have  crossed  the  line  and  reached  the  Pro 
vincials  on  Lake  Champlain.  *  Numbers  of  Canadians 
have  expected  our  army  there,  and  are  impatient  of  our 
delay,  being  determined  to  join  us  as  soon  as  sufficient 
force 'appears  to  support  them,'— so  Arnold  summed  up 
the  information  that  came  to  him.  Jacob  Bayley,  an 
influential  man  on  the  upper  Connecticut,  wrote  the  New 
York  Congress  that,  according  to  good  information,  the 

1 1  §  Mistake  •  Hey  to  Chancellor,  Aug.  28,  1775 :  Note  10.  Murray  to  Lords 
of  Trade  Oct  29!  1764:  Can.  Arch.,  Q,  2.  p  233.  Pitt:  Bourinot,  Canada  under 
Brit  Rule;  p.  go.  Montreal:  Verreau  (Sanguinet),  Invasion,  p.  37.  Tetu, 
Evgques,  p.  328.  Carleton,  June  7 :  Note  5. 


Carleton's  Military  Weakness  229 

French  would  take  sides  with  the  Americans,  if  an  army 
should  go  north.  Doubtless  active  minds  and  bold 
spirits  had  anticipated  the  march  of  events  and  expressed 
this  determination  some  time  before  the  masses  reached 
it;  but  now  the  proclamation  gave  a  fresh  stimulus  and  a 
mighty  backing  to  their  ideas.12 

To   many  a  Colonial,  no  shy  but  meaning  glance  from 
a  Chloe  or  a  Phyllis  could  have  been  more  fascinating. 
The  impulse  to  advance  had  long  tugged  at    its   leash. 
'We  earnestly  pray 
for  success  to   this 
important    expedi 
tion,  as  the  taking 

those  places  would 

afford  us  a  Key  to  Hi 

all   Canada,'  wrote 

Parson     Allen      of 

Pittsfield,      as    the 

conspirators  moved 

on  to  seize  Ticon- 

deroga;     and     that 

word  stuck  as  firm 
ly  to  the  pass  of  the 

lakes  as   it   did   to 

Peter  the  Apostle. 

But    keys    were 

made   to    use;   and 

one    who    stood 

waiting    forever   at    a    door    with   a    key   in   his   hand 

might  be   a  picture  but  not  a   person.      We  '  beg  your 

advice  whether  we  shall  abandon  this  place  and  retire  to 

Ticonderoga,  or   proceed   to  St.   Johns,    etc.,   etc.     The 

12  §  Leggeto  Howe:  Hist.  MSS.  Coram.,  Report  XI.,  App  V  p  788  N  H 
Prov.  Papers,  VII.,  p.  525.  Arnold :  Trumbull  to  Warren,  June  19,  1775  ( Journ' 
Mass.  Cong-.,  p.  372).  Bayley,  June  29,  i775 :  4  Force,  II.,  1134. 


REV.   THOMAS   ALLEN 


230  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

latter  we  should  be  fondest  of,' — these  woodland  notes  of 
Seth  Warner  and  Peleg  Sunderland,  after  the  capture  of 
Crown  Point,  sang  the  tune  of  many  a  brave  heart  at  the 
lakes.13 

Arnold's  party,  while  beating  down  toward  St.  Johns 
in  quest  of  the  sloop,  espied  a  boat  headed  the  other  way, 
and  the  coxswain,  giving  chase,  brought  the  stranger 
alongside.  It  proved  to  be  the  French  post  from  Mon 
treal,  with  Ensign  Moland  aboard;  and  without  com 
punction  the  pouch  was  overhauled.  This  was  not  the 
first  instance  of  the  kind.  The  gallant  captors  of  Crown 
Point  also  had  taken  a  mail-bag;  but,  cracking  their 
humble  wits  in  vain  over  the'  French  &  High  Dutch,' 
could  make  nothing  of  it.  Now,  fortunately,  it  was  only 
an  affair  of  English;  and,  among  other  things,  '  an  exact 
list  of  all  the  regular  troops  in  the  northern  department' 
came  to  light.  *  There  are  in  ye  yth  &  26th  Regiments 
now  in  Canada,'  reported  the  Colonel  himself,  '717  Men 
including  70  We  have  taken  Prisoners.'14 

By  no  means  the  least  important  item,  this,  in  the 
history  of  Arnold's  expedition  to  St.  Johns.  Ainslie 
was  harsh  enough  to  describe  the  affair  as  *  robbing  the 
Kings  mail '  and  '  stealing  a  return  ' ;  but  the  Americans 
could  afford  to  be  called  names.  Feints  and  ruses  would 
not  help  the  Governor  after  this.  His  exact  strength  was 
known,  and  known  to  be  very  small.  Deducting  for  the 
necessary  garrisons,  the  sick  and  the  details,  it  was  clear 
that  he  could  not  concentrate  many  more  than  five 
hundred  men  for  active  operations.  Canada  could  be 
invaded,  then,  with  little  fear  of  the  regulars;  and,  as  for 
the  noblesse,  *  Governour  Carleton,  by  every  artifice,  has 
been  able  to  raise  only  about  twenty,'  heard  Arnold. 


§  T.  Allen:  Hist.  Mag.,  I.,  p.  109.    Warner:  Dartmouth  Mag.,  May,  1872. 

§  Journal :  N.  E. 
may  19,  1776:  coll.  of  M 
Dart.  Mag.,  May,  1872. 


14  S  journal:  N.  E.  Chron.,  June  i,  1775-     Arnold  to  [Mass   Com.  Safety], 
May  10,  1776:  coll.  of  Mr.  F.  A.  Arnold.     Warner  and  Sund.,   May,    12,   1775: 


Arguments  for  Invading  Canada          231 

Reports  like  these  were  quite  enough  to  set  the  impulse 
aflame.15 

And  arguments  enforced  impulse.  To  carry  the  war 
north  would  keep  it  from  coming  south.  Indeed,  thought 
Ethan  Allen,  it  might  do  more.  '  Such  a  plan,'  he 
believed,  *  would  make  a  diversion  in  favour  of  the 
Massachusetts- Bay,'  and  that  was  a  point  which  every 
patriot  could  feel.  *  England  cannot  spare  but  a  certai  n 
number  of  her  troops,'  urged  Allen;  *  and  it  is  as  long  as 
it  is  broad;  the  more  that  are  sent  to  Quebeck,  the  less 
they  can  send  to  Boston.'16 

Something  else,  too,  might  be  gained,  and  that  an 
advantage  of  the  highest  importance. 

'  A  good  appearance  of  troops  from  England  would  soon 
remove '  the  passivity  of  the  Canadians,  thought  even 
the  despondent  Hey.  Gage  held  the  same  opinion.  *  The 
Canadians  have  en 
joyed  too  much  quiet 
and  good  living  since 
under  our  Govern-  d  /7 

ment, 'he wrote; 'But  */ 

a  good  Force  alone 
is  wanted  in  Canada- 
to  set  them  all  in  motion.'  Bayley  heard  the  like  through 
'  an  Indian  to  be  depended  on.'  '  If  we  lie  easy,  and  in 
a  supine  state,  and  Governour  Carleton  exerts  himself 
against  us  vigorously,  as  we  know  he  will,  and  who,  by 
a  legal  Constitution,  can  oblige  our  friends  to  assist  him, 
he  will,  by  slow  degrees,  discourage  our  friends,  and  en 
courage  our  enemies,  and  form  those  that  are  at  present 


i5  §  Ainslie,  Journal    (Introd.).    Carleton  could  not,  in  fact,  concentrate 
quite  500  at  this  time  (his  letter  of  June  26, 1775 :  Note  2).    For  the  State  of  the 


' 6  §  Allen  to  Mass.  Cong.,  June  9,  1775 : 4  Force,  II.,  939.     Id.  to  N.  Y 
Cong.,  June  2,  1775  :  ib.,  891. 


232   Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

indifferent,  into  combinations  against  us.  Therefore,  the 
possible  way  to  circumvent  him  and  the  scheme  of  the 
ministry,  is  to  nervously  push  an  army  into  Canada.'  As 
the  language  showed,  this  was  Ethan  Allen  still :  *  but  a 
rough  draft,'  like  its  author,  and  '  wrote  in  great  haste,' 
but  yet  Allen  at  his  best;  and  it  was  the  Grand  Congress 
who  received  this  plain  advice  '  from  your  Honours  '  ever 
faithful,  most  obedient  and  humble  servant.'  Others  re 
inforced  his  opinion.  'It  is  pretty  certain,'  wrote  a 
gentleman  at  Fort  George,  near  the  end  of  June;  'it  is 
pretty  certain  that  General  Carleton  has  hanged  two  or 
three  of  them  for  refusing  [to  take  up  arms],  and  speaking 
to  discourage  others;  so  that  it  is  on  the  whole  believed, 
that  through  all  the  stratagems  of  tyranny,  Carleton  will 
dragoon  a  number  of  the  Canadians  and  Indians  into  the 
service,  and  it  is  generally  believed  he  is  making  prepara 
tions  to  come  against  us.'  For  all  this,  a  cure  lay  close 
at  hand:  give  him  enough  to  do  at  home;  and  whether 
the  belief  had  good  foundations  or  poor,  the  remedy  looked 
attractive.17 

Neither  could  logic  pause  there.  Were  this  done,  the 
pressure  on  the  Canadians  would  come  from  the  other  side, 
and  not  only  the  friendly  but  the  neutral  would  soon  find 
themselves  in  the  American  camp. 

Six  days  after  Ticonderoga  fell,  Elisha  Phelps  grasped 
this  idea.  'Now,  gentlemen,'  said  he,  taking  the  General 
Assembly  of  Connecticut  by  the  hand,  as  it  were,  'I  must 
beg  leave  to  offer  my  humble  opinion,  which  is,  that  not 
less  than  3000  men  be  here  immediately,  and  to  push 
on  to  St.  John's  and  Canada,  and  secure  them  forts  and, 
in  doing  that,  secure  the  Canadians  and  Indians  on  our 


i 7  §  Hey  to  lyord  Chancellor,  Aug.  28,  1775 :  Note  10  ;  see  Murray,  Present 
War,  I.,  p.  530.  Gage  to  Sec.  State,  Aug.  20,  1775:  Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Am.  and  W. 
Ind.,  Vol.  420,  p.  256.  Bayley  to  N.  Y.  Cong.,  June  29,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  1134. 
Allen  to  Cont.  Cong.,  May  29,  1775:  ib.,  732.  Letter,  Ft.  George,  June,  29,  1775  : 
ib.,  1135. 


Arguments  for  Invading  Canada         233 

side,  and  secure  the  frontier  from  the  rage  of  the  savages. ' 
Ethan  Allen  had  ideas  on  this  point  also:  'It  is  my 
humble  opinion,  that  the  more  vigorous  the  Colonies  push 
the  war  against  the  King's  Troops  in  Canada  the  more 
friends  we  shall  find  in  that  Country' ;  while,  as  for  the  rest, 
'  Striking  such  a  blow  would  intimidate  the  Tory  party  in 
Canada.  .  .  .  They  are  a  set  of  gentlemen  that  will 
not  be  converted  by  reason,  but  are  easily  wrought  upon 
by  fear.'  'I  still  retain  my  sentiments,'  observed  Easton 
to  the  Massachusetts  Congress,  '  that  policy  demands  that 
the  Colonies  advance  an  army  of  two  or  three  thousand 
men  into  Canada  and  environ  Montreal.  This  will 
inevitably  fix  and  confirm  the  Canadians  and  Indians 
in  our  interest.'  Had  the  Colonel  been  a  stickler  for 
niceties,  on  second  thought  he  would  perhaps  have  struck 
out  'I'  and  inserted,  'the  people  around  me';  but  the 
Massachusetts  Congress  was  then  in  the  mood  to  value 
his  personal  opinion,  so  that  his  letter  did  very  well  as  it 
stood.  Besides,  the  argument  seemed  almost  an  axiom; 
and,  if  it  looked  so  clear  before  the  great  proclamation 
came  out,  how  much  truer  it  rang  afterward.18 

A  bit  of  honest  sentiment  barbed  this  idea  of  policy. 
The  Colonies  had  friends  in  Canada.  Not  a  few  people 
there  had  risked  a  good  deal  in  scattering  the  seeds  of 
liberty,  and  planting  the  shoots  of  resistance.  These 
friends  were  now  in  danger.  Word  came  to  Price,  the 
Montreal  delegate,  who  was  turning  homeward,  '  not  to 
proceed,  as  the  English  merchants  in  Canada  conceived 
it  unsafe  for  him';  and  this  hint  was  made  known  in 
Congress.  Arnold  gave  him  the  same  caution.  Ever 
since  the  delivery  of  Arnold's  Ticonderoga  letter,  Walk 
er's  house  had  been  constantly  under  surveillance.  If 
lettres  de  cachet  had  been  dreamed  of  in  April  showers, 


i 8  §  Phelps :  Conn.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  I.,  p.  176.  Allen  to  Cont.  Cong. :  Note  17 
Easton,  June  6,  1775:  Journ.  Mass.  Cong.,  p.  714. 


JvN  STM 

h  III 


236  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

what  visions  haunted  British  whigs  and  American  sym 
pathizers  in  the  heat  of  the  summer  solstice?  And  were 
such  loyal  friends  to  be  deserted  at  the  first  hour  of  need? 
It  was  a  worthy  sentiment,  and  Allen  gave  it  solid  foot 
ing,  to  boot:  '  the  Colonies  must  first  help  their  friends  in 
Canada,  and  then  it  will  be  in  their  power  to  help  them 
[the  Colonies]  again.'19 

Glad  enough  would  they  be  to  serve  the  cause  of 
liberty,  all  believed;  and  what  might  not  be  accomplished, 
were  they  given  the  power  to  do  so?  The  Ministerial 
party  of  Canada  would  be  overwhelmed.  The  menaces 
of  the  Quebec  Bill  would  dissolve  like  a  blue  mist.  The 
perennial  nightmare  of  a  Popish  invasion  would  vanish 
forever.  The  Colonies  could  '  work  their  policy '  to  the 
end,  and  Canada  would  complete  the  chain  of  united 
resistance  to  the  oppressor. 

England,  on  the  other  hand,  would  lose  the  best  and 
safest  place  for  landing  her  armies;  would  lose  a  rich 
and  overflowing  granary;  would  lose  a  host,  not  only 
of  soldiers,  but  of  laborers;  would  lose  horses  and 
wagons  and  boats  and  a  multitude  of  other  needful 
things,  not  easily  to  be  obtained  anywhere  else  on 
this  side  of  the  ocean.  And,  further,  who  could  be 
gloomy  enough  to  doubt  the  political  fruits  in  Kngland 
itself?  'If  we  once  had  that  Province  secured,'  wrote 
Leffingwell  to  Silas  Deane,  '  we  should  convince  the 
people  of  Kngland  of  the  weakness  of  the  ministers' 
plan';  and  Deane  himself,  staggering  about  under  his 
formidable  soubriquet,  rang  that  song  in  the  ears  of  Con 
gress  incessantly.20 

Very  few  notes  indeed  of  the  discussions  within  that 

19  §  Stringer  to  Cont.  Cong.,  June  21,  1775:  4  Force.,  II.,  1048.    Arnold  to* 
Price,  July  25,  1775 :  Emmet  Coll.    Mrs.  Walker,  Journal.    Allen  to  Mass.  Cong., 
June  g,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  939. 

20  §  Value  of  Canada:  Prevost  to  • ,  Dec.  26,  1775:  (Can.  Arch.,  B,  71,  p. 

235).  Iveffingwell,  June  4,  1775:  Conn.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  II.,  p.  258.    Deane  to  Mrs. 
D.,  Oct.  2,  1775  (ref.  to  May  and  early  June):  Conn.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  II.,  p.  308. 


Arguments  for  Invading  Canada         237 

august  body  were  recorded;  but  one  could  easily  imagine 
what  was  said  on  this  matter. 

No  doubt  the  inevitable  'But'  made  itself  heard.  So 
far,  Congress  had  shrunk  persistently  from  taking  the 
offensive.  How  it  construed  the  events  at  the  lakes  has 
been  seen,  and  its  public  action  represented  fairly  well  its 
inner  mind.  '  This  to  prevent  the  Canadians  marching 
down  into  the  New  England  Colonies,'  wrote  George 
Read  privately  of  the  Ticonderoga  exploit,  the  very  day 
Congress  went  on  record.  'As  this  Congress  has  nothing 
more  in  view  than  the  defence  of  these  colonies,  Resolved^ 
That  no  expedition  or  incursion  ought  to  be  undertaken 
or  made,  by  any  colony,  or  body  of  colonists,  against 
or  into  Canada' :  so  spake  the  Conscript  Fathers  on  the 
first  day  of  June;  and  this  was  still,  said  many,  the  only 
safe  doctrine.  Defence  was  constitutional;  aggressive 
ness  would  be  revolt.  The  Canadians  had  sent  no 
delegates  to  the  Congress,  and  did  not  stand  as  one  of  the 
United  Colonies.  Crossing  their  boundaries,  the  Colo 
nials  would  change  from  oppressed  into  oppressors;  and 
to  invade  with  armed  force  a  peaceful  royal  province  and 
then  drive  it  into  rebellion  would  be  treason  of  a  double 
dye.21 

'No,'  came  the  answer;  'it  is  no  more  aggressive  and 
no  more  treasonable  to  fight  the  redcoats  in  Canada  than 
to  fight  them  in  Massachusetts.  The  first  blow,  like  the 
second,  would  be  for  defence:  to  paralyze  the  arm  which 
Lord  North  kas  raised  against  us  in  the  presence  of 
Parliament  and  in  the  sight  of  the  world.  Must  we  wait 
until  the  stroke  fells  us,  before  we  think  of  preventing  it? 
What  did  Colonel  Arnold  write  the  other  day  about 
moving  into  Canada  ?  Was  it  not  this? — "  a  due  regard 


2  J  §  See,  e.g.,  Murray,  Present  War,  p.  529  ;  Russell,  Amer.,  II.,  p.  523  ; 
Ramsay,  Am.  Rev.,  I.,  p.  223  ;  Botta,  War  of  Indep.,  I.,  p.  401.  W.  T.  Read,  G. 
Read,  p.  102.  Journ.  Cong  ,  June  i. 


238  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

to  our  own  defence,  as  well  as  the  advantage  of  the 
inhabitants  of  that  country,  makes  it  necessary. ' '  How 
ran  the  Suffolk  Resolves,  warmly  endorsed  by  the 
first  Continental  Congress  and  by  the  people?  Was  it 
not  thus? — "From  our  affection  to  his  majesty,  which 
we  have  at  all  times  evinced,  we  are  determined 
to  act  merely  on  the  defensive,  so  long  as  such  conduct 
may  be  vindicated  by  reason  and  the  principles  of 
self-preservation,  but  no  longer."  As  for  the  talk  of 
oppressing  the  Canadians,  it  is  the  starkest  bugaboo;  and 
the  best  way  to  prove  it  so,  is  to  advance.  All  men 
have  desired  freedom;  are  not  the  Canadians  men?'22 

But  at  least,  such  a  move  would  seem  aggressive;  it 
would  have  the  look  of  rebellion ;  it  would  disturb  the 
moderates;  it  would  alienate  political  supporters  in  Great 
Britain;  it  would  alarm  all  the  Englishmen  owning 
property  in  Canada;  it  would  rouse  the  government;  it 
would  irritate  the  King. 

'The  King?  He  has  already  proclaimed  us  rebels,'  it 
was  easy  to  reply.  *  Our  friends  in  England  ?  They  have 
accomplished  nothing  for  us;  they  leave  us  to  help  our 
selves;  and  if  we  act  in  the  cause  which  they  profess  as 
much  as  we  do,  they  should  thank  rather  than  blame  us : 
they  who  worship  Liberty  should  honor  those  who  fight  for 
her.  Indeed,  we  have  been  fully  warned  to  count  no 
longer  on  help  from  the  mother- country.  More  than 
twelve  months  ago,  did  not  a  gentleman  in  L,ondon  send 
this  advice? — "Having  but  a  few  friends  left  [since  the 
patronage  of  the  Crown  has  almost  silenced  opposition], 
and  even  those  left  without  power  to  do  you  any  essential 
service  you  must  rely  upon  nothing  but  your  own  wisdom 
and  virtue  to  disappoint  the  wicked  purposes  of  your 
powerful  enemies."  When  the  Glasgow  merchants,  for 


22  §  Arnold  to  Cong.,  June  13,  1775    (P.S.) :  4  Force,  II.,  976.    Suffolk  Res.: 
Journ.Mass.  Cong.,  p.  601. 


Congress  Feels  the  Pressure  239 

one  example,  sent  Parliament  what  was  called  "a  very 
spirited  Petition"  in  our  favor,  did  they  not  have  I^ord 
Campbell,  their  member,  assure  the  Minister  that  it  was 
intended  only  to  gain  them  popularity  in  America,  and  did 
not  signify  opposition?  As  for  the  government,  it  has 
already  tried  to  arm  the  papists  and  the  Indians  against 
us,  and  there  is  little  to  expect  from  England,  save  what 
we  compel  her  to  grant.  Besides  we  have  gone  too  far  to 
waver.  What  says  Dr.  Warren  ?— ' '  We  must  now  prepare 
for  every  thing,  as  we  are  certain  that  nothing  but  success 
in  our  warlike  enterprises  can  save  us  from  destruction." 
Colonial  troops  will  respect  property  in  Canada  as  honestly 
as  in  Massachusetts;  why  not  ?  Possibly  the  advance  may, 
for  a  moment,  disturb  the  timid  and  hesitating  among  us; 
but  a  speedy  success  can  be  reckoned  upon;  and  so 
brilliant  a  stroke  will  solidify  the  people,  as  well  as  unite 
the  governments,  of  the  entire  continent.'  23 

But  it  would  seem  inconsistent.  Yesterday  we  stood  up 
before  the  world  and  forbade  any  step  into  Canada;  to-day 
can  we  order  that  province  invaded? 

'  A  man  or  a  nation  that  prefers  apparent  consistency  to 
real,  the  name  to  the  thing,  can  be  bound  with  a  rope  of 
sand.  We  forbade — and  we  still  forbid — any  act  of  hostility 
against  the  Canadians;  but  sending  an  army  among  them 
by  the  desire  of  some  and  the  consent  of  all,  would  not  be 
hostility.  The  addition  table  does  not  clash  with  the 
division  taole.  There  will  be  no  inconsistency  ' :  so  the 
objection  could  be  answered. 

The  total  weight  of  all  the  facts,  all  the  arguments,  and 
all  the  feelings  was  tremendous.  Congress  might  as  well 
have  undertaken  to  resist  the  rule  of  three.  And  besides 
the  willing  castle,  the  door,  and  the  key,  a  hand  to  slip 
the  bolt  was  offered.  '  If  the  Honourable  Congress  should 

23  §  London  letter,  Apr.  27,  1774:  4  Force,  I.,  248.  Glasgow:  Better  from 
London,  Mar.  10,  i77S  (4  Force,  II.,  114).  Warren  to  S.  Adams.  May  14,  1775: 
Frothingham,  Warren,  p.  484. 


Congress  Acts  241 

think  proper  to  take  possession  of  Montreal  &  Quebeck,' 
wrote  Arnold  ten  days  before  his  fall,  'I  am  possitive  2000 
Men  might  very  easily  effect  it.'  He  then  sketched  a 
plan  of  operations.  St.  Johns  and  Chambly  should  be  cut 
off  with  seven  hundred  men;  three  hundred  more  should 
guard  the  boats  and  the  line  of  retreat;  and  a  grand 
division  of  one  thousand  should  appear  before  Montreal, 
whose  gates,  on  the  arrival  of  the  Americans,  were  to  be 
opened  by  friends  there,  'in  consequence  of  a  Plan  for 
that  purpose  already  entered  into  by  them.'  In  a  brief 
time,  St.  Johns  and  Chambly  'must  fall  into  our  Hands'; 
Quebec,  unless  troops  should  arrive,  would  follow  their 
example;  and  such  a  success  would  be  'a  means  of  restor 
ing  that  solid  peace  and  harmony  between  Great  Britain 
&  her  Colonies,  so  essential  to  the  well-being  of  both,'— 
not  to  mention  the  advantages  of  controlling,  in  case  of 
need,  the  'inexhaustible  Granary'  of  Quebec  wheat,  with 
its  annual  surplus  of  five  hundred  thousand  bushels,  and 
of  frustrating,  'in  a  great  measure,'  the  intention  of 
making  an  attack  from  the  north.  a4 

It  was  a  brilliant,  bold,  rash  idea;  but  its  author  had 
no  fears.  'I  beg  leave  to  add,'  said  he  in  a  modest, 
casual  way,  'that  if  no  person  appears  who  will  undertake 
to  carry  the  plan  into  execution  (if  thought  advisable)  I 
will  undertake,  and  with  the  Smiles  of  Heaven,  answer  for 
the  Success  of  it,  provided  I  am  supplied  with  men,  &c, 
to  carry  it  into  Execution  without  Loss  of  Time.'  A  list 
of  requisites  and  a  political  justification  followed,  and 
Captain  Oswald  was  despatched  with  further  particulars. 
Nothing  seemed  wanting  but  a  vofe  of  Congress. 

Arnold  fell;  but  that  changed  only  the  man.  Schuyler 
took  his  place  with  higher  rank  and  ampler  powers;  he  was 
confidentially  ordered  to  confer  and  report  as  soon  as  pos- 

*4  This  paragraph  and  the  next:    Arnold  to  Cong.,  June  13,  i775  (Cont. 
°^s?^5'  ^°-  1^2>  I--  P-  I2>-     Rash:  see  Schuyler's  explanation  to  Wash., 

VOL.  i. — 16. 


242   Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

sible  on  *  the  subject  of  Colonel  Arnold's  letter'  to  the 
Congress  ;  and  in  addition  he  received  certain  private  in 
structions.  *b 

For  one  thing  he  was  to  repair,  as  soon  as  conveniently  he 
could,  to  the  posts  of  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point, 
inquire  into  the  condition  thereof  and  of  the  troops  then 
stationed  there,  and  learn  how  they  were  supplied  with 
provisions  and  other  necessaries.  For  a  second,  he 
was  to  examine  into  '  the  state  also  of  the  sloop  and 
other  navigation  on  the  lakes.'  Further,  the  'best  in 
telligence  '  possible  was  to  be  obtained  '  of  the  disposi 
tion  of  the  Canadians  and  Indians  of  Canada.' 

But  these  things  were  only  preliminaries.  He  was  to 
*  give  orders  for  the  necessary  preparation  of  boats  and 
stores  for  securing  to  the  United  Colonies  the  command  of 
those  waters  adjacent  to  Crown  Point  and  Ticonderoga'; 
to  *  exert  his  utmost  power  to  destroy  or  take  all  Vessels, 
boats  or  floating  Batteries  preparing  by  said  governor 
[Carleton]  or  by  his  order  on  or  near  the  waters  of  the 
Lakes';  and  finally,  as  the  natural  culmination  of  his 
errand,  Congress  directed  him,  should  he  find  it  'practi 
cable'  and  not  'disagreeable  to  the  Canadians,'  to 
*  immediately  take  possession  of  St.  John's,  Montreal  and 
any  other  parts  of  the  Country,  and  pursue  any  other 
measures  in  Canada'  which  might  have  a  tendency  '  to 
promote  the  peace  and  security '  of  the  Colonies. 

Like  General  Carleton,  Congress  now  stood  with  loins 
girt  up  for  a  bold,  a  decisive  step.  It  was  time;  for 
General  Gage  had  proclaimed  Samuel  Adams  and  John 
Hancock— with  all  their  adherents,  associates,  and  abet- 
ters— ' Rebels  and  Traitors,  and  as  such  to  be  treated.' 
Indeed,  it  was  high  time;  for  the  spark  of  Lexington  had 
blossomed  into  the  flames  of  Bunker  Hill.  Events  were 
now  moving  like  Niagara,  and  Congress  could  not  hang 


2  s   Secret  Journ.  Cong.,  June  27,  1775. 


Congress  Acts  243 

on  the  brink.  In  spite  of  its  purposely  vague  language, 
the  Resolution  was  intended  and  was  received  as  an  order 
to  invade  Canada.  A  nervousness  could  be  detected  in 
the  wording;  there  was  a  last  look  at  the  ground  behind, 
a  last  shiver  before  the  plunge;  but  the  decision  had  been 
made,  and  the  time  for  action  had  arrived." 


26  §  Gage,  June  12,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  968.  Understood:  Schuyler  to  Cong., 
Aug.  2,  1775  (Cont.  Cong.,  Papers,  No.  153,  p.  89);  Id.  to  Alb.  Com.,  Nov.  2, 
1775  (4  Force,  III.,  1524)  ;  Bossing,  Schuyler,  I.,  p.  343. 


IX 

THE  ARMY  ASSEMBLES 

r)HILIP  SCHUYLER  represented  the  best  Dutch  blood 
1  and  the  wealthiest  landed  aristocracy  of  New  York ; 
and,  when  it  was  proposed  to  elect  him  a  Continental 
major-general,  Richard  Montgomery  said  truly,  'His  con 
sequence  in  the  province  makes  him  a  fit  subject  for  an 
important  trust.'  As  the  proprietor  of  a  fine  mansion  at 
Albany  and  a  fine  estate  at  Saratoga,  he  was  known  and 
honored  throughout  that  region.  He,  in  turn,  knew  the 
country  and  its  people;  and,  as  a  share  of  military 
experience,  besides  a  long  training  in  business  manage 
ment,  had  fallen  to  his  lot,  he  seemed  a  most  fitting 
person  to  command  the  northern  army.1 

Many  shrank  from  laying  the  yard-stick  upon  Schuyler, 
for  they  began  by  admiring  him;  but,  when  driven  to  set 
down  the  measurements,  what  they  found  was  an  honest, 
intelligent,  courteous,  gallant  country  squire,  kindly, 
high-minded,  and  public-spirited,  thoroughly  scornful  of 
everything  false  or  mean,  abundantly  qualified  to  shine  in 
gilt  buttons  and  a  cocked  hat  on  training  days,  just  the 
man  to  lead  a  quadrille  with  slightly  overdone  politeness 
at  a  county  ball,  and  equally  capable  of  damning  a 
tenant — with  a  red  face  and  redder  language,  perhaps — 


1  §  Montg.  to  R.  R.  lyiv.,  June  3,  1775:  I/iv.  Papers,  1775-77.  PP-  3*,  33- 
Schuyler's  Saratoga  estate  was  not  at  the  Springs,  but  near  the  present  R.  R. 
station  of  Schuylerville.  It  was  32  miles  from  Albany  (Carroll,  Journal,  p.  55). 
He  had  acted  as  Commissary  in  the  British  service  during  the  late  war 
(Tuckerman,  Schuyler,  p.  91). 

244 


Philip  Schuyler 


245 


for  pilfering  or  disrespect,  of  turning  him  out  of  house 
and  home  for  retorting,  and  of  sending  him  a  leg  of 
mutton  and  a  cord  of  wood  as  soon  as  the  fellow  began  to 
starve  and  freeze.2 

His  constitution,  good  for  better  than  threescore  years 
and   ten,  yet   given    to    frequent    sudden   outbreaks   of 


GENERAL   PHILIP  SCHUYLER 

capricious  illness;  his  tall  person,  slight  yet  able  to  make 
fine  spurts  of  energy;  his  florid,  mobile,  puckering  face; 
his  keen,  squinting,  snapping  dark  eyes;  his  sagacious 
but  rather  quizzical  nose;  his  dark-brown  hair,  so  breezy 
it  almost  seemed  electrified;  his  clear  voice,  which  readily 

2  The  sketch  of  Schuyler  is  based  upon  his  portraits,  his  correspondence 
and  Bossing' s  Schuyler,  I.,  p.  66  ;  II.,  p.  479,  etc. 


246  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

grew  sharp;  and  his  general  effect  of  sensitiveness,  will- 
fullness,  and  tiltedness,  overlying  real  gravity  and  vim,— 
all  instantly  announced  him  as  the  petrel,  not  exactly  of 
storms  perhaps,  but  certainly  of  thunder-showers. 

Placed  in  a  world  where  everybody  had  been  well  born 
and  well  bred,  he  would  have  been  a  piquant  and  merry 
kind  of  saint,  with  only  the  failings  necessary  to  make  him 
a  'gentleman'  also;  but,  in  contact  often  with  common 
and  sometimes  with  ignoble  characters — occasionally  com 
missioned  in  the  Continental  service— he  despised  them 
too  much  to  hide  his  opinions,  preserve  his  manners,  and 
carry  his  point.3  Probably  he  never  used  a  word  of 
extraordinary  dimensions,  far  less  a  series  of  them,  with 
out  cause;  but  the  cause  might  be  some  independent  Sou 
of  Liberty,  endowed  with  a  good  memory  if  not  a  good 
character.  Given  a  limited  field— not  vastly  larger,  say, 
than  his  own  estates — he  could  plan  and  execute  in  a 
masterly  style;  but  his  propeller  travelled  rather  near  the 
surface;  and,  when  forced  by  emergencies,  it  spent  a  little 
over-much  of  its  energy  in  foam  instead  of  propulsion. 
Perhaps,  too,  his  ardent  facility  of  expression  could  not 
have  grown  so  round,  without  eating  more  or  less  into  his 
self-control  and  his  personal  weight.  At  all  events,  the 
executive  power  of  a  Greene,  a  Wayne,  a  Sullivan  lay 
quite  beyond  his  reach. 

Yet  Schuyler  well  merited  admiration,  after  all;  and 
gratitude  besides.  The  country  called  him,  and  he 
responded  without  grudging  or  self-seeking.  She  asked 
much,  and  he  offered  all, — his  name  and  influence,  his 
property,  his  best  efforts,  his  comfort,  health,  and  peace 
of  mind.  It  was  not  the  General's  fault  that  he  lacked 
the  breadth  of  beam  and  weight  of  metal  for  the  heaviest 
burdens  and  the  mightiest  battles.  He  did  what  he 


3  Graydon's  letter:  Dunlap,  New  Netherlands,  I.,  p.  ^80. 


Despatch  is  Essential  247 

could,  and  that  was  much.  He  proved  himself  a  noble 
and  patriotic  citizen.  Therefore  his  name  shines,  and 
therefore  let  it  shine  for  aye. 

It  was  easy  to  see  how  Schuyler's  task  would  present 
itself.  Prompt  action  was  essential.  Hinman  himself 
admitted  that.  Under  his  regime  things  were  going 
badly,  so  far  as  they  were  going  at  all.  After  being  in 
undisputed  command  for  two  weeks,  he  confessed  his 
inability  to  make  a  satisfactory  return  of  his  forces,  guns, 
ammunition,  and  stores  on  account  of  the  *  present 
unsettled  circumstances.'  In  reply  to  what  Schuyler 
described  as  a  pointed  letter,  he  acknowledged  that  he 
could  'say  but  little'  about  Carleton's  movements;  and  as 
for  informing  the  Canadians  of  our  friendly  intentions,  they 
were  *  so  very  cautious,'  and  the  passes  'so  well  guarded' 
that  it  was  'almost  impossible  to  get  any  information  to 
them.'  'I  find  myself  very  unable  to  steer  in  this  stormy 
situation,'  added  the  poor  fellow;  'Sometimes  we  have  no 
flour,  and  a  constant  cry  for  rum,  and  want  of  molasses 
for  beer,  which  was  engaged  to  our  people.'  Some  three 
hundred  men  lay  idle  at  Crown  Point,  and  about  six 
hundred  at  Ticonderoga,  though  Hinman  realized  that 
without  new  fortifications  the  ground  could  not  be  defended. 
Supplies  were  being  wasted  or  embezzled.  One  day  the 
cook  at  Ticonderoga  found  himself  with  only  a  single 
barrel  of  flour.  The  sloop  had  neither  pilot  nor  captain; 
roads  and  bridges  were  becoming  impracticable;  and 
King  Log  was  only  able  to  'wait,  Sir,  with  impatience' 
for  Schuyler's  arrival,  and  meanwhile  'hope  for  better 
times.'  Never  was  a  master  hand  more  needed.  'I  shall 
have  an  Augean  stable  to  cleanse  there,'  said  the  General 
himself.4 

*  §  Hinman  to  Schuyler,  July  7,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  1605.  Schuyler  to  Hin 
man,  June  28,  1775:  ib.,  1123.  Arnold's  report,  by  Schuyler's  request,  July  n, 
1775:  ib.,  1646.  Indefens.,  etc.:  Hinman  to  N.  Y.  Cong.,  July  3,  1775  (ib., 
1538).  No  fortifs.:  Schuyler  to  Hancock,  July  15,  1775  (ib.,  1665).  Flour,  etc.: 
Id.  to  Id.,  July  ii,  1775  (ib.,  1645).  Stable,  etc. :  Id.  to  Wash.,  July  15,  (ib.,  1668). 


248  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

And  the  situation  in  Canada  cried  no  less  loudly. 
'Without  Loss  of  Time,'  had  been  the  proviso  of  Arnold's 
offer  to  move  north.  Were  the  invasion  to  be  neglected 
much  longer,  the  delay  might  be  'fatal,'  reported  Bayley's 
trustworthy  Indian  a  fortnight  later.  In  Governor  Trum- 
bull's  opinion,  it  would  soon  be  'high  time'  to  secure  the 
province;  which  meant  that  it  was  time  already.  Ethan 
Allen  and  all  the  others  of  importance  on  the  ground  had 
been  urging  the  advance  this  long  while.  Nobody  could 
doubt  that  Carleton  would  bar  higher  every  day  the  pass 
at  St.  Johns.  It  was  evident  that  his  power  and  ability 
must  weaken  steadily  the  '  Friends  of  Liberty  '  in  Canada. 
Any  hour,  reinforcements  might  arrive  from  England,  or 
Gage  might  send  aid  from  Boston;  and  who  could  doubt 
that  the  Governor  was  toiling  with  every  nerve  to  build 
water-craft  and  regain  control  of  the  lakes  ? ft 

Evidently,  then,  if  the  orders  of  Congress  were  to  be 
executed,  boats,  men,  equipment,  and  organization  must 
be  provided,  and  provided  in  the  quickest  possible  time. 
Everything  depended  upon  'despatch,'  said  Schuyler 
himself.  A  day,  an  hour  might  be  decisive  a  little  later. 
The  boats  must  be  made;  and,  as  that  operation  would 
very  likely  require  more  time  than  anything  else,  it 
needed  to  be  undertaken  first.  Trees  and  water-power 
abounded  near  Ticonderoga;  but  the  timber  would  have 
to  come  into  contact  with  moving  strips  of  steel,  notched 
on  one  edge,  called  saws.  The  General  must  have 
known — for  doubtless  on  some  fishing  or  hunting  trip  he 
had  passed  that  way — that  old  French  mills,  worth 
repairing,  stood  on  the  Outlet  of  Lake  George.  But,  with 
out  counting  overmuch  upon  these,  he  would  immediately 
despatch  to  the  ground  a  few  millwrights  and  ship- 
carpenters,  with  a  squad  of  journeymen,  some  boxes  of 


5  §  Arnold  to  Cong.,  June  13,  1775 :  4  Force,  II.,  976.    Bayley  to  N.  Y.  Cong., 
June  29,  1775:  ib.,  1134.     Trumbull  to  Schuyler,  July  24,  1775:  ib.,  1721. 


Time  is  Lost 


249 


tools,  a  few  saws,  quantities  of 
nails,  and  some  bags  of  oakum. 
Precise,  detailed  orders  would  be 
made  out,  so  far  as  possible,  at 
once;  and  then,  in  view  of  the 
lack  of  executive  organization, 
he  or  his  lieutenant,  Brigadier- 
General  Richard  Montgomery, 
would  follow  up  these  orders 
at  the  base  of  supply,  and  at 
tend  personally  to  the  raising, 
equipping,  and  forwarding  of 
troops,  while  the  other  would 
seek  the  front  without  delay.6 

No  doubt  a  chance  for  many 
long  letters  full  of  politely  turned 
phrases  and  elegant  prolixity  lay 
in  the  situation.  No  doubt  social 
amenities  asserted  their  claims. 
No  doubt  the  politics  of  New 
York  demanded  steering;  and 
Schuyler,  a  member  of  the  Pro 
vincial  Congress,  counted  for 
much.  No  doubt  the  Tories  in 
Tryon  County  were  buzzing. 
But  Schuyler  stood  now  as  a 
major-general  of  the  United  Co 
lonies,  with  a  commission  second 
only  to  Washington's  in  moment 
and  urgency;  and  before  him 
lay  orders  both  definite  and  im 
portant.  Naturally  he  reasoned 

6  §  Despatch :  Schuyler  to  Cong.,  June  30, 
1775  (Bossing,  Schuyler,  I.,  p.  344).  Mills: 
Parkman,  Montcalm,  I.,  p.  477 ;  Schuyler 
to  Franklin,  Aug.  23,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  242. 


TicondeV 


itnam 
Trners 


!   , 


fi'f  ^ 


vfel} 

<  '  3Us' 


250  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

that,  as  an  executive,  his  true  policy  was  to  achieve, 
at  all  hazards,  the  essential  thing,  and  then  cover  as  many 
other  points  as  possible. 

But  no;  Schuyler  did  not  reason  in  this  way.  Such  a 
course  would  no  doubt  have  possessed  certain  merits;  but 
it  would  have  lacked  politeness,— not  to  say,  dignity. 
Father  Knickerbocker  was  no  pert  Boston  lawyer;  he 
could  neither  hustle  nor  be  hustled.  Hudson  River 
patroons  were  no  Connecticut  artisans;  great  bodies  like 
them  had  planetary  motions  to  fulfill.  Schuyler  himself 
lived  on  that  stream.  Six  days  after  the  Continental 
Congress  ordered  him  to  the  north,  he  delivered  to  the 
New  York  Congress  (July  3)  a  requisition  for  troops, 
lead,  powder,  bullet-moulds,  tents,  oakum,  pitch,  oars, 
saws,  and  various  other  things,  adding— as  if  with  a 
courtly  wave  of  the  hand— 'an  assortment  of  articles  in 
the  artillery  way'7;  but  he  avoided  the  disagreeable 
Yankee  trick  of  standing  by  and  prodding  people  until 
they  did  their  work. 

About  a  fortnight  after  the  Congress  had  received  this 
paper,  General  Schuyler  reached  the  lakes.  His  reception 
might  have  been  predicted.  Arriving  after  nightfall  at  a 
post  near  Ticonderoga,  he  found  that  the  sentinel,  hear 
ing  of  his  approach,  had  gone  off  to  awaken  the  guard, 
'  in  which  he  had  no  success' ;  and  a  second  guard  also  lay 
buried  in  'the  soundest  sleep.'8 

So  far  as  concerned  the  grand  plan  of  campaign,  he 
himself  summarized  the  case  in  this  wise:  'except  thirteen 
or  fourteen  batteaus,  that  were  built  at  Fort  George,  not 
one  earthly  thing  was  prepared.  I  had  saw-mills  to 
repair,  timber  and  every  other  individual  thing  to  procure, 
gun-carriages  to  build,  vessels  of  force  to  construct.' 

v  Schuyler  toN.  Y.  Cong.,  July  3,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  1536  5  Id.  to  Hancock, 
July  21,  1775:  ib-.  I7°2- 

8  Schuyler  to  Wash.,  July  18,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  1685. 


Time  is  Lost  251 

Neither  had  the  polite  method  of  taking  things  for 
granted  been  working  well  at  New  York.  Nothing  that 
his  requisition  called  for  had  arrived.  *  The  pitch, 
oakum  and  nails  I  wish  to  have  sent  with  all  possible 
despatch,'  he  had  specified;  but  they  had  not  been  seen. 
There  was  not  even  a  definite  report  about  them;  nor 
about  anything  else,  except  that  Mr.  Curtenius,  the 
Manhattan  Commissary,  had  concluded  in  the  course 
of  a  week  that  it  would  cost  too  much  to  send  the  oars. 
1  Everything  is  wanted;  I  am  destitute  of  every  material 
for  making  the  necessary  preparations,'  he  admitted  to 
Trumbull  three  days  later.9 

So,  then,  buried  in  the  forest  primeval,  with  Mont 
gomery  on  the  edge  of  it  not  far  away,  Schuyler  had  to 
begin  struggling  for  supplies  at  the  far  mouth  of  the 
Hudson;  and  even  now,  instead  of  sending  a  competent 
man  to  expedite  the  business,  he  thought  it  safe  to  rely 
upon  letters. 

On  the  twenty-seventh  of  July,  he  assured  the  Provincial 
Congress  that  it  was  f  indispensably  necessary  that  not  one 
moment's  delay  should  be  made'  in  forwarding  the  stores 
mentioned  in  the  requisition;  and  at  length  some  of  the 
articles  happily  arrived.  August  the  fifteenth,  he  begged 
for  the  rest,  and  in  particular  for  the  artillery  stores,  with 
'  not  one  moment's  delay.'  Six  days  later,  the  New  York 
Congress  wrote  that  the  articles  wanted  had  been  sent, 
and  must  have  been  delayed  on  the  way;  but,  after  ten 
days  more,  they  explained  that  Mr.  Curtenius,  consider 
ing  the  order  for  artillery  stores  too  general,  had  done 
nothing  about  it,  and  'supposed'  that  somebody  else  had 
'  procured  what  was  necessary ' ;  yet  these  '  various  articles 
in  the  artillery  branch,'  about  which  nobody  made  sure  at 


Cong 
1704. 


§  Schuyler  to  Alb.  Com.,  Nov.  2,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  1524.  Id.  to  N.  Y. 
,  July  3,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  1536.  Id.  to  id.,  Tuly  21,  1775:  4  Force,  II., 
Id.  to  Cong.,  July  21  ;  ib.,  1702.  Id.  to  Trumbull,  July  21,  1775:  ib.,  1704. 


252  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

either  end  of  the  line,  were  so  essential  that  Schuyler  said 
he  could  not  '  make  a  substitute  for  any'  of  them.  'Some 
bullet  moulds,'  ordered  at  the  same  time,  the  Congress 
went  on  to  say,  '  will  be  sent  you  by  Captain  Goforth. 
They  would  have  been  sent  sooner,  had  not  the  Com 
missary  been  obliged  to  get  them  made  here.'  Possibly 
Schuyler  felt  inclined,  at  this  point,  to  invoke  the  rule  of 
three,  and  figure  out  the  length  of  time  necessary  to  com 
plete  his  order  for  these  articles,  if  two  months  were 
required  to  manufacture  '  some.'  Yet  they  were  by  no 
means  luxuries:  'We  cannot  do  anything  without  the 
bullet  moulds,'  he  wrote.10 

When  the  troops  raising  at  Albany  were  known  to  be 
in  need  of  blankets,  instead  of  despatching  an  approxi 
mate  number  at  a  venture,  the  authorities  at  New  York 
wrote  up  for  a  *  return  ...  of  the  number  of  blankets 
wanting,'  which  meant  nearly  or  quite  a  week's  delay. 
Indeed,  trusting  to  a  letter  might  cost  far  more  time  than 
that.  One  despatch  of  Schuyler' s — and  that  a  pressing 
one — took  fifteen  days  to  make  the  journey  down,  and  was 
not  answered  by  the  New  York  Congress  for  over  a 
week.11 

Still  more  surprising  proved  another  case.  In  his 
requisition,  Schuyler  called  for  enough  tents  to  shelter 
about  three  thousand  five  hundred  men,  six  men  to  each. 
A  large  part  of  them,  at  least,  were  urgently  needed  by 
the  Connecticut  regiment,  for  the  troops,  crowded  into 
unhealthy  barracks,  were  not  only  suffering  but  sicken 
ing;  yet  no  tents  for  these  men  arrived.  Hinman, 
apparently,  did  not  discover  the  difficulty;  but  Schuyler, 


10  §  Schuyler  to  N.  Y.    Cong.,  July  27,  1775:  4  F9rce,  II.,  1735.    Id.  to  id.r 
Aug.  15,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  141.     N.  Y.  Cong,  to  W.  lyiv.,  Aug.  21,  1775  :  ib.,  540. 
Id.  to  Schuyler,  Sept.  i,  1775  :  ib.,  571.  Scliuyler  to  N.  Y.  Cong.,  Aug.  23 :  ib.,  243. 

1 1  §  Montg.  to  N.  Y.  Cong.,  Aug.  8,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  67.     Loss  of  time: 
N.  Y,  Cong,  to  Schuyler,  Aug.  8,  1775  (ib.,  525);  Schuyler  to  N.  Y.  Cong.,  July 
16,  1775  (4  Force,  II.,  1671). 


Time  is  Lost 


253 


on  reaching  the  ground,  sent  word  to  the  Connecticut 
authorities.  Without  delay,  Trumbull  despatched  an 
express  to  New  York  (July  25),  asking  whether  the 
need  could  not  be  supplied  there,  as  Schuyler  suggested. 
'  This  Colony, '  he  explained,  '  is  so  far  exhausted  of 
materials  for  making  tents,  that  it  will  be  very  difficult, 
if  not  impossible,  to  furnish  them  in  any  tolerable  season.' 
In  any  case,  the  expense  would  fall  upon  the  Continental 


ROGERS  ROCK,  LAKE  GEORGE 

treasury;  and,  with  their  customary  politeness,  the  New 
Yorkers  undertook  to  do  the  business.12 

Weeks  passed.  On  August  the  twenty-first,  Trumbull 
begged  them  to  forward  the  tents  'in  the  most  speedy 
manner  possible,  the  season  being  far  advanced,'  and 
added:  '  You  are  pleased  to  mention  our  remitting  the 
money  for  them.  You  may  rely  that,  if  the  expense  is 
not  seasonably  defrayed  by  the  Continental  Congress, 
this  Colony  will  not  fail  of  doing  it  though  they  have 

1 2  §  Needed :  Schuyler  to  Trumbull,  July  18,  1775  (4  Force,  II.,  1685)  5  Id-  to 
Hancock,  July  28,  1775  (ib.,  1745).  Trumbull  to  Schuyler  and  N.  Y.,  July  24, 
•as,  1775:  ib.,  1721,  1726.  In  N.  Y.  Cong.,  July  28:  ib.,  1807. 


254   Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

already,  without  grudging,  advanced  near  ,£150,000,  this 
currency.'  In  reply,  the  authorities  of  New  York  reported 
that  all  the  tents  they  had  'and  all  the  materials  that 
could  be  procured'  had  been  forwarded  with  troops  of 
their  own.  It  looked  unpromising  for  the  Connecticut 
men  in  the  rains  and  heavy  dews.  For  some  time  Schuy- 
ler  had  been  'trembling'  for  them,  anticipating  'dreadful 
havoc'  as  the  consequence  of  exposure;  but  happily,  after 
a  little  more  delay,  those  polished  Rip  van  Winkles 
awoke,  rubbed  their  e3^es,  and  did  precisely  what  should 
have  been  done  more  than  a  month  earlier:  ordered  sail 
cloth  and  duck  purchased,  workmen  engaged,  and  the 
tents  despatched  in  small  lots  as  fast  as  completed. 
Slumber  so  profound  has  no  memories  ;  and,  on  the  first 
day  of  September,  the  Congress  assured  Schuyler,  'We 
have  lost  no  time  in  getting  tents  made.'13 

Hinman's  regiment  numbered  almost  one  thousand, 
and  Easton's  nearly  two  hundred.  In  addition  to  these 
troops,  Congress  proposed  that  Schuyler  should  have  only 
'  those  called  Green  Mountain  Boys'  and  '  other  men  in  the 
vicinity  of  Ticonderoga.'  Albany  had  set  on  foot  the 
raising  of  four  companies,  and  two  hundred  and  five  of 
these  volunteers  were  on  duty  at  Fort  George  when 
Schuyler  arrived  there;  but  the  Congress  of  the  Colony 
stopped  the  enterprise.  The  tale  of  the  Green  Mountain 
Boys,  though  longer,  had  an  equally  unsatisfactory 
denouement.  Ethan  Allen  burned  to  see  his  brave  legion 
recognized  in  the  service,  with  his  own  swinging  sabre  at 
the  front,  and  begged  as  much  of  the  very  Colony  that  had 
set  a  price  on  his  head,  as'  the  first  favor '  he  had  ever  asked 
of  it.  The  favor  was  granted,  and  Schuyler  issued  the 
necessary  orders  at  once  for  levying  the  proposed  five 


1 3  §  Trumbull  to  N.  Y.  Cong.,  Aug.  21, 1775 :  4  Force,  III.,  224.  N.  Y.  Cong, 
rrumbull,  Aug.  25,  1775;  ib.,  432.  Schuyler  to  N.  Y.  Cong.,  Aug.  23,  1775 :  ib., 
.  N.  Y.  Cong.,  Aug.  29:  ib.,  564.  N.  Y.  Cong,  to  Schuyler,  Sept.  i :  ib.,  571 


to  Trumbull 
243 


Troops  are  Needed  255 

hundred;  but,  as  they  were  to  form  an  independent  corps 
and  elect  their  own  officers,  'disputes  and  jealousies' 
among  themselves  produced  a  deadlock.  Finally,  how 
ever,  'the  old  farmers,'  as  Allen  styled  them,  got  together 
in  Dorset  at  the  end  of  July,  and  by  a  nearly  unanimous 
vote,  leaving  the  colonelcy  vacant,  selected  Seth  Warner 
to  command  the  regiment  as  the  lieutenant-colonel,  prob 
ably  deeming  him  a  better  military  leader  than  Allen. 
But  this  did  not  raise  the  men,  and  Schuyler  gave  up  all 
hopes  of  them  for  the  present.14 

Massachusetts,  with  the  British  in  Boston  to  look  after, 
could  do  little  elsewhere;  but  Connecticut,  besides  aiding 
at  Cambridge  and  the  lakes,  had  cheerfully  sent  Wooster's 
command  to  help  defend  New  York  in  case  of  need,  and 
the  Continental  Congress  finally  despatched  a  thousand 
of  these  men  up  the  Hudson,  under  Colonel  Waterbury, 
to  reinforce  the  northern  army. 15 

Meanwhile,  Schuyler  had  been  looking  at  home  for 
troops.  About  the  time  of  his  election  as  major-general, 
New  York  had  voted  to  raise  four  regiments,  and  he 
called  speedily  for  some  of  these.  Soon  after  taking  com 
mand  at  the  lakes,  he  notified  the  Provincial  Congress  that 
he  felt  'very  anxious  to  have  the  New  York  troops'  with 
him.  About  a  week  later,  the  pitch  of  his  voice  rose: 
'I  do  most,  most  earnestly  entreat'  for  soldiers.  An 
other  week  passed,  and  Ethan  Allen  reported,  'No  troops 
from  New  York,  except  some  officers,  are  yet  arrived.' 
Eleven  days  more  went  by,  and  Hinman  observed 

i*  §  Return  of  July  15  (4  Force,  II.,  1667):— Hinman  :  at  Ti.,  478;  Cr.  Pt.,  293; 
north  end  of  Lake  George,  98  ;  Ft.  George,  104=973  ;  F,aston:  at  Ti.,  40  ;  Cr.  Pt., 
109  ;  at  Ft.  George,  25=174  ;  N.  Y.  troops  at  Ft.  George,  205.  Journ.  Cong., 
June  23,  1775.  Secret  Journ.  Cong.,  July  i,  1775.  N.  Y.  Cong,  to  Alb.  Com., 
June  7,  1775  :  4  Force,  II.,  1280.  Allen  to  N.  Y.  Cong.,  June  2,  1775 :  4  Force,  II., 


891.  N.  Y.  Cong.,  July  4,  1775:  ib.,  1336.  Schuyler  to  Hancock,  July  3,  21,  1775: 
ib.,  1535,  1702.  Allen  to  Trumbull,  Aug.  3,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  17.  Vt.  Hist. 
Soc.  Coll.,  I.,  p.  9.  Schuyler  to  Hancock,  July  21,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  1702. 


§  Johnston,  Record,  p.  39.  Schuyler  to  Cong.,  July  15,  1775:  Cont.  Cong. 
Papers,  153,  I.,  p.  37.  Secret  Journ.  Cong.,  July  i,  17,  1775.  Wooster  to  Han 
cock,  July  22,  1775:  Cont.  Cong.  Papers,  161,  II.,  p.  249. 


256  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 


invidiously,  '  The  Province  of  New  York  abounds  with 
officers,  but  I  have  not  had  my  curiosity  gratified  by  the 
sight  of  one  private.'  Some  of  these  troops  had,  how 
ever,  appeared  at  Albany,  though  with  empty  powder- 
horns;  and  more  were  coming.  August  the  eighth,  four 
•companies  of  the  First  New  York  regiment  scrambled  into 
the  waiting  sloops  at  Manhattan,  under  the  nose  of  the 
British  man-of-war  Asia,  for  their  inspiring  voyage  up  the 
Hudson;  and  two  weeks  later,  as  the  whip-poor-wills 

began  their  vespers, 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Ritz- 
ema,  leading  their  van, 
saluted  at  Ticonderoga. 
Yet  so  loosely  had 
affairs  been  managed, 
that  after  more  than  a 

A  SKETCH   IN   THE    HIGHLANDS  Week  of  AugUSt  had  gOUC 

by,  Captain  H.  B.  Liv 
ingston,  a  very  wide-awake  officer,  with  his  company 
almost  full,  had  to  inquire  to  what  regiment  he  be 
longed.16 

And,  after  all,  these  men  proved  too  often  little  more 
than  a  burden,  for  they  came  unprepared  to  fight. 

*  Our  Troops  can  be  of  no  service  to  you;  they  have  no 
arms,  clothes,  blankets  or  ammunition;  the  officers  no 
commissions;  our  Treasury  no  money;  ourselves  in'debt,' 
the  New  York  Committee  of  Safety  had  moaned.  Com 
mon  self-respect  forbade  Livingston's  company  to  march, 
for  it  had  received  'no  hat,  shirt,  waistcoat,  breeches, 
stockings  or  shoes,'  not  to  mention  the  trifle  of  weapons. 


16  §  N.  Y.  regts.  •  Mag.  Am.  Hist.,  1881,  p.  403-  N.  Y.  Com.  Safety,  July  15, 
1775:  4  Force,  II.,  1730.  Schuyler  to  N.  Y.  Cong.,  July  21,  1775  ib.,  1704-  Id.  to 
id.,  July  27,  1775:  ib.,  1735.  Allen  to  Trumbull,  Aug.  3,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  17. 
Hinman  to  Trumbull,  Aug.  14,  1775:  ib..  135.  Montg.,  Albany,  Aug.  10,  1775:  ID., 
80  At  N  Y  and  Ti. :  Foxcroft  to  Todd,  Aug.  10,  1775  (Can.  Arch.,  Q,  u,  p, 
221) ;  Ritzema,  Journal,  Aug.  8,  21.  H.  B.  Uv.  to  N.  Y.  Cong.,  Aug.  8  4  Force, 
III.,  67. 


Scanty  Equipment  257 

Clinton  advanced  with   six   companies;  but    only    three 
of  them  had  arms  in  good  order,  and  one  had  none  at  all. 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Van  Cortlandt  arrived  at  Albany  with 
four  companies.    Three  of  the  four  had  no  blankets;  many 
of  the  men  lacked  '  shirts, shoes,  stockings,  underclothes'; 
they  were,  'in  short,   without  anything  fit  for  a  soldier 
except  a  uniform  coat;  and  not  more  than  thirty  guns, 
with  four  Companies,  fit  for  service.'     Not  one  tent  could 
be  found  for  them,  and  there  were  no  barracks.     Lacking 
arms  enough  for  a  proper  guard,  Van   Cortlandt  had  to 
keep  them  together,  when  on  shore,  with  clubs  and  canes. 
But  mostly  they  stayed  penned  up  in  the  boats;  and  there 
they  cried  in  desperation,  '  Give  us  guns,  blankets,  tents, 
et  cetera-  and  we  will  fight  the  devil  himself;  but  don't 
keep  us  here  in  market-boats,  like  a  parcel  of  sheep  or 
calves!'      As   for  money,  the  New   York   Congress  had 
none,  and  Schuyler  appealed  to  Connecticut  for  aid;  but 
enough  could  not  be  got  from    any  source.     Van  Cort- 
landt's  men  clamored  for  'cash'  among  other  things;  and 
for  a  long  time  H.  B.    Livingston   drew  from  his  own 
pocket  all  that  he  paid  his  men.17 

Without  a  doubt,  shrewder  planning  and  more  activity 
could  have  saved  no  little  precious  time,— possibly  a  full 
month;  yet  assuredly  some  of  the  difficulties  wore  horns 
of  no  ordinary  sharpness.  Little  powder,  for  example, 
could  be  found  anywhere  in  the  Colonies.  For  some  time 
past,  Orders  in  Council  had  prohibited  the  export  of 
'Gunpowder,  or  any  sort  of  Arms  or  Ammunition'  from 
Great  Britain.  Two  weeks  after  the  capture  of  Ticonder- 
oga,  the  Albany  Committee  stated  that  the  New  Bng- 
landers  had  carried  off  almost  every  pound  of  powder  that 

ij  §  N.  Y.  Com.  Safety  to  Schuyler,  July  15,  i775 :  4  Force    II     i7o0      H   B 
£"£  '  J'  Con&~"  Au&-  8>  I0>  r775:  4  Force,  III.' 67,  7Q      Doubtless  the  men 

had  something  to  wear,  but  nothing  fit  to  march  in/'ciinton    H   £iv     Tr     to 
N.  Y   Cong    Aug     29)  I775  (ib.,  452).     Van  C.  to  N.  Y.  Cong.,  Aug.  28   i77S   ib 
447.    Schuyler  to  Hancock,  June  30,  i775:  4  Force,  II.,  n38  77S  '       ' 


VOL.  i.— 17. 


258  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

could  be  spared;  yet  the  posts  on  the  lakes  were  so  poorly 
supplied  that,  when  Congress  awoke  to  the  situation  at 
the  north,  it  had  to  beg  ammunition  of  Philadelphia  for 
them.  '  We  are  credibly  informed, '  said  Trumbull  at  the 
end  of  May,  'that  there  are  not  five  hundred  pounds  of 
powder  in  the  city  of  New  York,'  and  at  the  middle  of 
August  that  place  was  entirely  destitute  of  so  necessary 
an  article.  'For  God's  sake,'  cried  the  New  York  Com 
mittee  of  Safety  to  the  Delegates  of  the  Colony  at  Phila 
delphia,  'For  God's  sake,  send  us  money,  send  us  arms, 
send  us  ammunition !' 18 


SABBATH    DAY   POINT,    LAKE   QEORQE 

Meanwhile,  the  greatest  exertions  were  made  to  supply 
the  lack.  In  June,  Congress  urged  the  gathering  of  salt 
petre  and  sulphur;  and,  besides  appointing  a  committee 
to  manufacture  the  former,  explained  to  the  public  how 
it  could  best  be  made.  In  August,  the  Essex  Gazette 
published  a  recipe  for  producing  saltpetre;  and  the  Karl 

is  5  Council-  4  Force  II.,  277;  Dartmouth's  circular,  Oct.  19,  1774:  Kmmet 
Coll.  Alb.  Com.',  May  23,  1775:  4 Force,  II.,  84i.  Secret  Journ.  Cong  ,  June  26, 
I775.  Trumbull  to  Mass.  Cong.,  May  29,  1775:  Journ.  Mass.  Cong.,  p  709. 
N.  Y.  Cong,  to  Montg.,  Aug.  12,  1775:  4  Force,  IIL,  529.  N.  Y.  Com.  Salety, 
July  15,  1775.  4  Force,  II.,  1788. 


A  Lack  of  Arms  259 

of  Effingham  declared  later  in  the  British  House  of  Lords 
that  by  this  time  'a  saltpetre  work  was  become  a  necessary 
appendage  to  a  farm.'  Franklin  offered  a  plan,  by 
which  the  sweepings  of  the  streets  and  the  rubbish  of  old 
buildings  were  to  be  'made  into  mortar,  and  built  into 
walls,  exposed  to  the  air,  and  once  in  about  two  months 
scraped,  and  lixiviated,  and  evaporated.'  A  bounty  of 
three  shillings  a  pound  was  offered  by  Rhode  Island 
for  any  quantities  produced  in  the  Colony,  and  Robert  R. 
Livingston  set  up  a  powder-mill  at  Rhinebeck  on  the 
Hudson,  the  last  of  June,  with  four  mortars  and  a  dozen 
*  pounders. '  For  some  time,  Schuyler  had  a  sort  of 
monopoly'of  this  establishment;  but  his  needs  outran  all 
the  sources  of  supply.19 

Arms  gave  almost  as  much  trouble.  'Badly,  very 
badly  armed,  indeed/  Schuyler  described  the  men  at  the 
lakes  generally;  and  no  doubt  it  was  trying  to  find  guns 
of  all  varieties  of  bore,  and  many  guns  out  of  repair.  Yet 
that  was  not  so  bad  as  to  find  no  arms  at  all.20 

Early  in  July,  the  Congress  of  New  York  voted  to  con 
vene  all  the  blacksmiths  in  town,  and  ask  whether  they 
could  produce  gun-barrels,  bayonets,  and  ramrods;  and, 
further,  to  send  across  the  ocean  for  '  four  complete  sets 
of  Lock-Smiths  to  make  Gun-Locks  ' ;  but,  in  spite  of  that 
heroic  vote,  it  frankly  admitted,  five  or  six  weeks  later, 
'  Arms  cannot  be  had  here. '  Ten  shillings  were  offered 
each  soldier  who  would  furnish  himself  with  a  suitable 
musket;  but  even  this  did  not  fill  the  void.  Despairing 
of  enough  guns,  Massachusetts  decided  to  furnish  '  good 
Spears '  to  her  troops,  and  even  to  let  the  manufacturer 
work  on  them  Sundays, — an  appalling  sign  of  urgency. 


19  §  Journ.  Cong.,  June  10,  1775.  Essex  Gazette,  Aug.  24,  1775.  Karl:  4 
Force,  VI.,  301.  Franklin:  4  Force,  II.,  956.  Bounty:  4  Force,  III.,  232. 
Rhinebeck:  R.  R.  L,iv.  to  N.  Y.  Cong.,  June  26,  1775  (4  Force,  II.,  1106).  Monop 
oly:  N.  Y.  Cong,  to  R.  R.  I^iv.,  Aug.  18,  1775  (4  Force,  III.,  535). 

2  °  §  Schuyler  to  Hancock,  July  21,  1775 ;  4  Force,  II.,  1702.  Id.  to  N.  Y.  Cong., 
Aug.  23,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  243. 


260  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

Indeed,  Colonel  Porter  received  orders  to  go  personally, 
'  procure  a  Scythe,  and  carry  it  to  a  Blacksmith  to  be  fixed 
for  a  Spear'  in  such  a  manner  as  he  should  think  fit,  and 
bring  it  before  the  Congress  'when  fixed';  while  the 
Pennsylvania  Committee  of  Safety,  after  requesting 
Franklin  to  obtain  the  model  of  a  pike,  recommended 
that  arm,  on  the  authority  of  Marshal  Saxe,  for  the 
double  purpose  of  tent-pole  and  weapon.21 

As  Congress  appointed  a  committee  to  search  for  lead 
ore,  there  was  evidently  no  adequate  stock  of  the 
metal  in  sight.  Drums  and  fifes,  armorers  and  ar 
morers'  tools,  broad-axes  for  hewing  lumber,  cartridge- 
paper  and  every  sort  of  artillery  stores,  counted  in  the  list 
of  wants.  Roads  and  bridges  needed  constant  repairs. 
'The  troops  sicken  alarmingly  fast,'  reported  Schuyler; 
a  quarter  of  Baston's  regiment  fell  out;  yet  no  hospital 
had  been  provided,  nor  even  medicines.  In  fact,  Dr. 
Church  informed  Samuel  Adams  in  August  that  the  drug 
stores  of  Massachusetts  were  empty  ;  and  probably  the 
neighboring  Colonies  had  no  better  stocks.  To  transport 
the  barrels  of  pork  and  flour  all  those  muddy  and  rocky 
leagues  through  the  wilderness — about  sixty-five  miles 
besides  the  water-carriage — was  no  slight  labor.  Still 
heavier  were  hogsheads  of  molasses ;  yet  spruce  beer 
seemed  essential  to  counteract  the  effects  of  salt  meat, 
and  save  the  men  from  drinking  the  ill-reputed  water  of 
Lake  Champlain.  The  horses  and  oxen  almost  gave  out, 
for  a  drought  had  'scorched  up  every  kind  of  herbage.' 
The  stock  of  flour  ran  so  low  that  Schuyler  had  to  stop 
Waterbury's  regiment  at  Albany  '  to  prevent  their  starv 
ing  ' ;  quantities  of  the  painfully  won  supplies  were  lost 
through  carelessness  on  the  road  or  wastefulness — mainly 

21  §  N.  Y.  Cong.,  July  6,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  1342.  N.  Y.  Cong,  to  Monlg., 
Aug.  12,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  529.  Bonus:  Fernow,  N.  Y.,  I.,  p.  17.  Mass.  Cong., 
June  19,  24,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  1425,  1443.  Pa.  Com.  Safety,  July  6  ;  Aug.  26,  1775  : 
4 Force,  II.,  1771 ;  III.,  510. 


Embarrassments  of  Many  Sorts          261 

the  result  of  inexperience— in  distributing  them;  money 
became  so  scarce  that  the  Albany  committee  put  out  a 
thousand  pounds  in  paper  on  its  own  account  ;  and,  in 
round  terms,  if  any  possible  difficulty  failed  to  be  men 
tioned  by  some  one,  it  was  apparently  by  an  oversight. 2a 


TICONDEROQA   IN   1818 

War  is  the  grand  opera  of  nations,  the  supreme 
act  of  the  State,  the  final  result  of  special  abilities, 
technical  training,  studious  equipment,"  and  elaborate 
organization;  and  it  was  now  as  if  the  good  people  of 
Beaver  Meadow,  hearing  of  the  King's  intention  to  hunt 

^  a^^sfjSm^r1!^??''  ^"J^ilff^H^1^  t0  N'  Y'   C°ng'' 


262    Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

there,   should    undertake  to  give   Parsifal  on    a   week's 
notice. 

Under  all  these  trials  the  men  behaved  as  well  as  could 
reasonably  have  been  expected.  Schuyler  felt  disap 
pointed  that  well-to-do  and  high-bred  citizens  did  not 
compose  the  ranks;  but  he  might  have  reflected  that,  no 
matter  how  glorious  the  cause  of  Liberty,  those  who 
enjoyed  a  rough  existence  or  could  get  nothing  better  to 
do  were  the  persons  most  likely  to  present  themselves. 
They  were  far  from  bad,  however,  as  a  whole.  Quite  a 
number  of  them  felt  inclined  to  swear  occasionally;  but, 
on  the  other  hand,  a  Connecticut  officer  ordered  'the 
good  &  holsome  Laws  [against  profanity]  Put  in  Execu 
tion  for  the  Futer,'  piously  observing,  'I  dont  see  How 
any  of  us  Can  Expect  ye  Blessing  of  God  when  his  Holy 
Name  is  so  Often  ProphairV  Another  forbade  'all 
wrestling  and  gaming  of  every  kind  in  camps ' ;  and  a 
soldier  recorded  with  astonishment  how,  at  a  critical  point, 
the  teamsters  drove  all  day  'as  if  it  had  not  been  Sunday.' 
Men  could  scarcely  be  heathenish  under  such  conditions. 
But  they  did  complain  bitterly  of  what  seemed  needless 
hardships ;  and,  when  Van  Schaick  reported  that  every 
thing  was  lacking,  it  was  only  a  corollary  to  add,  as  he 
did,  that  'scarce  anything'  could  be  heard  in  the  camp  at 
Albany  save  'mutinies.'  Some  deserted,— of  course  ;  and 
certain  unruly  ones  had  to  be  given  a  taste  of  'Moses' 
law,  i.  e.,  thirty-nine'  stripes,— but  this  also  was  to  be 
expected.23 

More  serious  was  the  outcropping  of  old  Colonial 
jealousies.  The  Connecticut  men  'think  they  are  not  well 
used,'  wrote  David  Welsh  to  his  Governor;  for  now  they 
were  looked  after  by  a  New  York  commissary,  and  he, 

23  s  Tourn  Capt  Tos  Smith,  Aug.  20.  Barlow,  Ord.  Book,  Aug.  27  Van 
Schaick  to  N.  Y.  Cong-,  Aug.  29,  !775:  4  Force.  III.,  451-  Desertions:  Schuyler 
to  N.  Y.  Cong.,  Aug.  10,  1775  (ib.,  177)-  Stripes;  Letter,  Aug.  25,  1775  (ib.,  4340 


The  Soldiers  263 

instead  of  issuing  the  rations  promised  by  the  Connecticut 
Assembly,  decided  that  bread  and  pork  were  enough. 
Nor  did  it  end  with  that.  '  Several  of  the  companies  have 
no  brass  kettles  to  this  day,'  complained  Welsh;  '  Several 
companies  have  no  frying-pans  ' ;  '  The  rum  that  comes, 
as  far  as  I  have  seen,  is  worse  than  none,' — a  temperance 
lecture  malgre  lui;  'I  think  there  has  not  been  one  pound 
of  soap  bought  for  the  army';  'A  small  matter  of  coffee 
and  chocolate'  and  a  little  sugar  for  the  sick,  but  none  for 
'them  that  can  keep  about';  scarcely  any  vinegar,  'and 
that,  all  said,  not  worth  anything';  'And  why  all  the 
places  of  profit  should  be  filled  with  men  in  York  Govern 
ment,  I  don't  know,  and  our  people  be  obliged  to  do  all 
the  drudgery.  ...  Is  it  because  we  have  no  man  capable 
of  anything  but  drudgery?  Sir,  unless  you  or  somebody 
else  sees  to  it,  I  don't  think  we  shall  have  one  hundred 
and  fifty  men  here  by  the  middle  of  September  or  October 
from  New- York  Government.  The  advantage  of  their 
situation  is  such  that  it  will  make  them  rich.  Are  we  to 
be  wholly  ruled  by  the  Committee  of  New-York  ?  Is  it 
for  their  unfaithfulness  in  the  common  cause?  .  .  .  One 
of  our  men  will  do  as  much  as  six  of  them.'  Over  against 
which — no  doubt  equally  fair — could  be  set  Ritzema's 
description  of  the  New  England  troops  as  destitute  of 
order  or  discipline, — 'Milites  Rustici  indeed.'  ™ 

Another  result  of  the  Colonial  regime  seemed  no  less 
unfortunate.  Schuyler  gave  it  out  in  orders  that  all  the 
Connecticut  men  should  sign  the  Continental  Articles  of 
War,  but  found  after  a  time  that  nothing  of  the  sort  had 
been  done.  The  officers  admitted  that  they  had  not  urged 
the  matter  upon  the  soldiers,  but  explained  that  'they 
found  it  would  raise  a  defection  in  their  minds  which 


24  Welsh,  Aug.  5,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  46.  Conn,  rations:  Hinmati,  Conn., 
p.  165.  Schuyler's  comments :  letter  to  Hancock,  July  21,  1775  (4  Force,  II., 
1702).  Ritzetna,  Journal,  Aug.  21. 


264  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

would  injure  the  cause.'  In  short,  the  soldiers  felt  that 
instead  of  being  freemen,  volunteering  to  serve  their 
Colony  for  a  limited  time  but  not  ceasing  to  be  sovereign 
citizens,  they  would  find  themselves,  if  they  should  sign 
for  the  Continent,  involved  in  a  service  'the  end  of  which 
was  uncertain,'  and  would  be,  'perhaps,  on  no  better  foot 
ing  than  that  of  Regulars,' — in  other  words,  mere  slaves 
and  minions.  For  the  same  reason,  they  sniffed  suspici 
ously  at  the  plan  to  muster  them  in  due  military  form; 
and  the  commander  had  to  yield  at  all  points.25 

When  Montgomery  cited  Schuyler's  consequence  in  the 
province  as  a  ground  for  electing  him  to  a  high  com 
mand,  he  added,  'But  has  he  strong  nerves?'  By  this 
time  the  General's  letters  had  begun  to  answer  that 
question.  Sometimes  he  wrote  in  the  simple,  straight 
forward,  sensible  style  that  no  doubt  represented  the 
genuine  and  untroubled  man.  Sometimes,  even  when 
there  was  not  a  moment  to  waste,  the  gilt  buttons  of  the 
major-general  almost  hid  the  cloth:  '  I  am  happy  to  learn  I 
shall  soon  be  furnished  with  that  necessary  article,  without 
which  every  kind  of  business  goes  on  not  only  tardily, 
but  disadvantageously;  I  lament  it  was  not  in  your 
power  to  afford  me  a  larger  supply  of  the  still  more 
necessary  article  in  military  operations,' — in  other  words, 
he  was  pleased  to  know  that  some  money  was  coming, 
but  sorry  as  much  could  not  be  said  of  powder.  Some 
times,  his  temper  broke  down  into  petulance  or  even 
peevishness:  4  If  those  [deserters  who  have]  gone  are 
like  some  that  remain,  we  have  gained  by  their  going  off ' ; 
4  without  an  artillery  officer  it  will  be  almost  needless  to 
have  cannon.'  And  once  he  wrote  President  Hancock 
what — in  view  of  the  orders  given  him  by  Congress — 

25  §  Bedford  to  Hancock,  Aug.  30,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  460.  Trumbull  to 
Scnuyler,  Sept.  29,  1775,  and  Hinman  to  Trumbull.  Oct.  12,  in  Trumbull  Papers 
Conn.  Hist.  Soc. 


'< 


« 


.O 

JNIVERS1TV 


Inspiring  Scenes  267 

would  have  seemed  a  twofold  impertinence  from  any  one 
less  thoroughly  recognized  as  a  gentleman :  '  If  Congress 
should  think  it  necessary  to  build  vessels  of  equal  or 
superiour  force  to  those  building  at  St.  John's,  a  number  of 
good  ship-carpenters  should  be  immediately  sent  up; 
although  this  year  they  would  be  of  no  service  but  that  of 
transporting  troops,  even  if  we  had  them  here,  on  account 
of  the  want  of  powder. ' 26 

Still,  in  spite  of  everything,  the  troops  gathered.  Most 
of  them,  turning  their  backs  on  rough  but  quaint  and 
picturesque  Albany,  followed  the  Hudson,  crossed  and 
recrossed  the  diminishing  stream,  and  marched  briskly 
on  through  the  shadows  and  odors  of  a  wide  pine  belt. 
An  opening  suddenly  revealed,  then,  along,  dark  sheet  of 
water  in  a  setting  of  green  mountains,  and  they  hurried 
down  about  a  mile  of  easy  descent,  passed  the  ground 
where  Dieskau  fell,  shuddered  in  spirit  over  the  horrors 
of  Fort  William  Henry,  glanced  at  Fort  George,  and 
embarked  on  a  lake  almost  beautiful  enough  to  console 
the  first  white  man  that  saw  it,  poor  Jogues,  for  the 
gauntlet  and  fire  of  the  Iroquois.  Here  they  gazed  at  the 
massive  walls,  verdure  clad,  that  had  ravished  the  eyes  of 
Champlain,  when  he  came  up  in  his  frail  shallop  and 
taught  those  same  redmen  the  sound  of  a  Frenchman's 
gun;  and,  farther  down,  they  wondered  at  the  tre 
mendous  clifF  where,  as  it  was  told,  Rogers,  the  famous 
partisan,  escaped  from  the  Indians  by  a  leap  that  none  of 
them  dared  imitate.  Some,  if  not  all,  passed  a  night  on 
'  green  feathers'  at  Sabbath  Day  Point;  and  then,  leaving 
Lake  George,  they  traversed  ground  made  pathetic  by 
'Mrs.  Nabbecromby's'  flight  and  Lord  Howe's  fall, 
listened  a  moment  to  the  roar  of  the  Outlet,  pondered 


26  §  Montg. :  Note  i.  Schuyler's  letters  of  July  10,  1775  :  4  Force,  II.,  1621  ; 
Aug.  10 :  4  Force,  III.,  177;  Aug.  2,  ib.,  1 1.  Orders:  Secret  Journ.  Cong., 
June  27, 1775. 


268   Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

sadly  over  the  white  bones  of  Abercrombie's  valiant 
soldiers,  worthy  of  a  better  general,  and,  in  a  few  minutes 
more,  were  marvelling  at  Old  Ti.27 

Others,  learning  there  were  no  boats  for  them  on  Lake 
George,  lingered  a  little  over  the  ruins  and  the  memories 
of  Fort  Kdward,  and  then,  saying  good-bye  to  their 
baggage  and  tents,  pushed  on  by  the  right-hand  trail  for 
Wood  Creek,  with  four  days'  provisions  in  each  haver 
sack.  The  weather  was  often  rainy,  the  path  *  very  wet 
and  slippery, '  not  one  bridge  the  whole  way,  and  only 
hemlock  boughs  for  shelter;  yet  it  all  seemed  nothing  to 
'Americans  engaged  in  so  glorious  a  cause,'  as  one  of 
them  phrased  it.  Near  Skenesborough  they  saw  where 
the  Indians  bound  Putnam  to  the  tree  ;  and  one  told 
another  how  the  fire  was  actually  kindled  there  to  burn 
brave  '  Old  Put '  alive.  And  so  they,  too,  arrived  at  the 
headquarters.  One  march  over  such  ground  was  almost 
enough  to  make  them  veterans.28 

Money,  such  as  it  was,  now  became  plentiful,  for  Con 
gress,  besides  forwarding  one  hundred  thousand  paper 
dollars  to  the  northern  army,  authorized  Schuyler  to  draw 
for  two  hundred  thousand  more,  should  they  be  necessary 
during  its  recess.  Carpenters  arrived  at  the  very  end  of 
July;  and  the  saws,  nails,  oakum,  and  pitch  came  at  last. 
Axes  gleamed  and  rang  in  the  vast  swaying  arcades  of 
the  forest.  Mighty  giants  of  trees  fell  with  a  crash  that 
banished  the  deer  for  miles  around.  Huge  logs  rolled 
into  the  Outlet,  shot  down  the  black  current,  whirled  like 
straws  in  the  rapids,  flew  end-over-end  through  the  white 
falls,  and  finally  assembled  with  elephantine  gravity  in  the 


2' §  Carroll,  Journal,  pp.  60-63.  Schuyler  to  Hancock,  Nov.  n,  1775:  4 
Force,  III.,  1520.  Jogues,  Howe,  Abercrombie:  Parkman,  Jesuits,  p.  219; 
Montcalm,  II.,  pp.  89,  115.  Champlain  :  Thompson,  I^ake  George,  p.  8.  Rob 
bins,  Journal,  Apr.  21.  Bones:  Vose,  Journal,  p.  8. 

28  §  via  Skenesborough :  Betters  to  N  .Y.  (4  Force,IIL,  433,  434)  ;  Parkman, 
Montcalm,  I.,  p.  294;  Trumbull,  Journ.,  Aug.  10.  No  bridge:  Trumbull, 
Autob.,  p.  26.  Putnam,  etc. :  Vose,  Journ.,  p.  7  ;  I^ossing,  Field  Book,  1.,  p.  140.. 


The  Work  Advances 


269 


eddy  below.  The  two  little  mills,  each  with  one  saw, 
twanged  their  nasal  music  up  and  down,  purring  in  the 
clear  wood  or  snarling  at  the  knots;  while  the  busy  men 
flung  now  and  then  a  loud  halloo  or  a  cheery  bit  of  song 
into  the  echoing  woods.  Urged  by  Schuyler,  the  carpen 
ters  hammered  and  sawed  from  the  rising  to  the  going 
•down  of  the  sun,  with  but  a  scanty  time  for  lunch;  and 


THE    WESTERN    BARRACKS,    TICONDEROGA,    IN    1901 

so,  little  by  little,  two  flat-bottomed  vessels  sixty  feet  long, 
and  a  fleet  of  bateaux  with  bottoms  and  garboard  streaks 
of  oak  and  sides  of  white  fir,  glided  into  the  water. 
There  was  inspiration  as  well  as  good-fellowship  in  such  a 
life.29 

Little  by  little,  too,  the  army  got  into  harness.  Schuy 
ler' s  judgment  and  patience  might  possibly  nod  or  snap, 
but  his  activity  and  zeal  never  slept;  and  a  wave  of  calm 

29  §  Journ.  Cong.,  Aug.  i.  W.  Liv.  to  N.  Y.  Cong.,  July  29,  1775:  4  Force, 
II.,  1753.  Vessels,  etc.:  Schuyler  to  Franklin,  Aug.  23,  1775  (4  Force,  III.,  242). 
Id.  to  Alb.  Com.,  Nov.  2.  1775:  ib.,  1524.  Bateaux:  Id.  to  Hancock,  Nov.  n, 
1775  (ib.,  1520);  Kalm,  Travels,  III.,  p.  16. 


270  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

good  cheer  came  over  the  hills  to  him  in  the  counsel  of 
Washington :  '  I  am  sure  you  will  not  let  any  difficulties, 
not  ,  insuperable,  damp  your  ardor.  Perseverance  and 
spirit  have  done  wonders  in  all  ages.'  Montgomery,  who 
came  up  from  Albany  after  a  while  and  took  charge  of  the 
details,  had  been  a  captain  in  the  regular  British  army, 
and  knew  the  campaigner  whether  his  name  began  with 
Tommy  or  with  Jonathan.  '  Good  soldiers,'  he  an 
nounced,  would  be  *  cherished  with  the  fond  attention  of 
an  indulgent  Parent,'  but  '  the  vicious,  the  disorderly  and 
the  disobedient'  would  in  due  course  be  visited  with 
deserved  punishment.  'Men  having  shown  their  reluc 
tance  in  the  Department  wherein  they  may  [be]  usefull,' 
it  was  given  out  in  orders,  '  the  Commanding  officer  of 
that  Reg'  will  take  Care  that  they  do  not  go  on  the 
Expedition,  as  it  is  much  suspected  they  have  entered 
into  the  Service  from  mercenary  views  [rather]  than  from 
a  generous  Zeal  for  the  Glorious  Cause  of  America.'3' 

By  the  twenty-fifth  of  August,  a  New  Yorker  felt  able 
to  report,  very  possibly  with  a  friendly  bias,  that  the 
men  were  'under  as  strict  a  discipline  as  any  of  the 
Regulars.'  With  'the  greatest  plenty  of  salt  and  fresh 
provisions,'  'a  gill  of  rum  and  as  much  spruce  beer  as  they 
could  drink  every  day,'  they  could  look  forward  cheer 
fully  to  'a  smart  brush'  with  the  red  coats.  At  noon,  when 
the  hot  August  sun  poured  his  drowsy  beams  upon  the 
camps,  the  breeze  from  the  lake  drew  softly  over  them; 
and  at  evening  the  air  of  the  forest,  laden  with  cool 
woodland  odors,  crept  down  from  the  hills  to  visit  and 
refresh  the  tents.  It  was  a  rough  yet  pleasant  school 
ing  for  something  very  different,  and  the  soldiers  grew 
more  and  more  confident.  'As  for  my  own  part,' 


30  &  Wash  Aue  20,  177^:  Writings  (Ford),  III.,  p.  86.  Motitg.,  Gen.  Orders, 
7  IQ?  1775:  MS.  in  the  possession  of  MissS  — "  "T  A-4~~  '  ^~ *~  '-  "-*—•- 
k,  Aug.  24:  lyib.  of  Cong.  REMARK  Xli. 


The  Controversy  Intensified  271 

wrote  an  officer,  'there  is  nothing  gives  me  the  least 
uneasiness.'31 

Meanwhile  the  great  issues — the  security  of  the  Colo 
nies  and  the  destiny  of  America — sharpened  the  call  for 
their  valor.  On  the  fourth  of  July,  the  city  of  London 
directed  its  representatives  in  Parliament  to  demand, 
'  Who  are  the  advisers  of  those  fatal  measures  which  have 
planted  Popery  and  arbitrary  power  in  America  ? '  but  only 
to  meet  with  another  rebuff.  Two  days  later,  the  Con 
tinental  Congress  really,  though  as  yet  unconsciously, 
decreed  American  independence  by  a  Declaration  '  setting 
forth  the  causes  and  necessity '  of  taking  up  arms,  one 
count  in  which  was  the  *  certain  intelligence,'  that 
Governor  Carleton  intended  to  fall  upon  the  Colonies 
with  Canadians  and  Indians,  if  he  could  persuade  them 
to  it.  Another  two  days  passed,  and  the  Congress 
assured  the  people  of  Great  Britain  that  'the  powers 
vested  in  the  governor  of  Canada  gave  us  reason  to 
apprehend  danger  from  that  quarter,  and  we  had  frequent 
intimations  that  a  cruel  and  savage  enemy  was  to  be  let 
loose. upon  the  defenceless  inhabitants  of  our  frontiers.' 
Within  three  weeks  more,  an  appeal  to  the  warm-hearted 
people  of  Ireland  revealed  again  the  fears  and  the 
determination  of  the  Colonies.  On  the  other  side,  the 
King's  face  grew  each  day  harder,  and  the  plans  of  his 
government  less  pacific.32 

Kvery  motive  urging  the  patriots  to  action  was  intensi 
fied;  and  on  Lake  Champlain  to  act  was  to  advance. 
Time  had  been  lost;  but  that  signified  now  only  the 
greater  need  of  despatch.  Equipment  still  lagged;  but 
that  only  meant  now  that  resolution  and  energy  should 
make  up  the  want.  'When  the  sword  is  short,  we  take 
one  step  forward,'  said  Hoche. 


3 1  Better  to  N.  Y.,  Aug.  25  :  Boston  Gazette,  Sept.  25,  1775.    REMARK.  XIII. 

32  §  London:  4  Force,  II.,  1072.    Journ.  Cong.,  July  6,  8,  28. 


X 

THE  COUNSELS  OF  THE  FOREST 

THE  traveller  must  beware  not  only  of  the  foe  that 
prowls  but  of  the  foe  that  glides  ;  he  must  fear  not 
only  the  enemy  that  leaps  upon  him  with  a  roar,  but  the 
enemy  that  thrusts  a  fatal  sting  from  flowers  and  grass 
in  silence  ;  the  panther  is  terrible,  but  the  serpent  is 
dreaded  even  more. 

The  scarlet  lines  of  British  troops  and  the  white  flash  of 
British  steel  made  no  pleasant  sight  in  the  dreams  of  the 
Colonists;  but  perhaps,  at  least  on  the  frontier,  the  pros 
pect  of  trouble  with  the  almost  invisible  savages  cut  into 
their  slumber  still  more  deeply.  To  be  killed,  said 
Madame  Magloire,  one  could  endure;  but  to  be  killed  with 

a  dull  knife !  and  the  knives  of  Indians,  far  worse 

than  dull,  had  their  edges  twisted  into  every  contortion 
that  savage  cruelty  could  imagine,  to  prolong  and  agonize 
the  tragedy  of  death.  The  frightful  gauntlet,  the  bloody 
scalping-knife,  pitch-pine  splinters  burning  in  the  flesh, 
slow  fires  kindled  on  the  body,  gaping  wounds  crammed 
with  salt,  slashed  feet  driven  over  gravelly  roads,  a  whole 
infernal  gamut  of  tortures  too  horrible  or  too  indecent 
for  description,  and  then,  beyond  the  worst  of  them,  the 
torments  of  the  heart  added  to  those  of  the  nerves,  when 
husbands,  wives,  and  children  were  compelled  to  witness 
one  another's  torments, — all  these  were  no  bygone  tales, 
but  living  realities,  almost  passing  before  their  eyes,  to 
the  Americans  of  1775. 

Peculiar  dangers,  too,  as  well  as  cruelties  belonged  to 

272 


Indian  Warfare  273 

Indian  warfare.  True  sons  of  the  forest,  the  savages  had 
a  key  to  every  secret  path  of  the  wilderness,  and  for  them 
each  tree  of  the  mountain  was  a  sign-post.  Few  indeed 
of  the  palefaces  equalled  them  as  scouts.  Nobody  could 
foretell  when  a  sleepless,  bloodshot  eye  might  be  tracking 
his  footsteps,  or  waiting  in  the  branches  of  a  hemlock  to 
shoot  him  down  as  he  passed.  Striking  like  a  snake  from 
the  covert  of  leaves,  but  without  the  warning  hiss  or 
rattle,  the  Indian  kept  his  foes  in  deadly  fear  even  while 
busy  far  away;  and  after  fear,  tired  by  long  watching  and 
reassured  by  the  stillness,  had  fallen  asleep,  in  the  very 
moment  of  confidence,  when  the  breeze  in  the  pines 
whispered  only  of  peace,  he  struck  like  the  lightning, 
and  marked  the  spot  forever  with  a  name  of  blood. 
Quiet  was  a  trap  and  silence  a  delusion;  information 
might  only  bait  a  snare;  and  victory  proved  too  often  but 
the  shadow  of  a  coming  disaster. 

No  doubt  the  day  had  passed  when  the  result  of  a  set 
contest  between  white  and  red  could  be  uncertain ;  yet 
the  Indians— especially  if  somewhat  united— could  still 
muster  large  as  well  as  infernal  cohorts.  The  league  of 
the  Iroquois  in  central  New  York — the  fierce.  Mohawks, 
the  brave  though  milder  Oneidas,  the  warlike  Senecas 
and  their  less  known  allies — made  the  name  of  the  Six 
Nations  a  factor  still  in  any  calculations  of  American 
war.  In  the  central  council-house,  guarded  sternly  by  the 
Onondagas,  hung  many  a  belt  of  wampum  that  told  of 
triumphs  in  war  and  in  statecraft;  and  the  proud  hope  of 
adding  to  the  score  burned  hot  within  many  a  painted 
brave.  Brant,  the  civilized  but  no  less  terrible  Mohawk, 
was  now  in  his  prime;  and,  while  he  lived,  the  Dutch  west 
of  Albany,  hearing  the  cry,  'Brandt,  brandt  !'  felt  happy 
if  it  proved  to  mean  a  fire  in  the  village,  not  a  raid  of 
this  dreaded  enemy.1 

»  Bonney,  Gleanings,  I.,  p.  53. 

VOL.    i.— IS 


274  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 


Less  martial  and  less  mighty,  the  Seven  Nations  of 
Canada  were  linked  in  bonds  of  alliance  to  the  Iroquois. 
Less  martial,  yes;  yet  not  for  that  reason  tame  or  dog- 
hearted.  Even  the '  Christianized '  Abenakis  of  St.  Francis 
were  not  yet  far  from  savagery.  Montcalm  had  looked 
with  amazement  there,  only  a  few  years  before,  on  sombre 
faces  painted  with  white,  green,  yellow,  black,  and  fiery 

vermilion,  scalp-locks  bristling 
with  feathers  or  with  wampum, 
pendants  dangling  low  from 
every  nose  and  weighing  the 
lobe  of  every  ear  to  the  shoul 
der,  hunting-shirts  daubed  with 
vermilion,  and  necks  hung  with 
wampum;  and,  in  spite  of  the 
silver  bracelets,  the  gorgets  and 
medals,  the  good  steel  knives  on 
their  bosoms,  and  the  good 
French  muskets  in  their  hands, 
these  lambs  of  the  fold  had 
seemed  very  passable  wolves. 
For  all  their  childish  finery, 
they  were  able  warriors;  and, 
when  Rogers  took  their  village 

by  surprise  one  morning,  he  found  hundreds  of  English 
scalps  hanging  from  the  poles  above  their  doors.  These, 
thought  Joseph  Reed,  were  '  the  savages  we  had  the  most 
reason  to  fear.'2 

At  Caughnawaga,  on  the  south  side  of  the  River  St. 
Lawrence  about  nine  miles  above  Montreal,  dwelt— and 
still  dwells— another  of  the  Seven  Nations.  Clever 
Piquet,  one  of  the  political  French  preachers,  established 


A   DEERFIELD   DOOR,    HACKED 
BY  THE   INDIANS 


2  §  Journ.  Cong.,  July 
of  all.  See  Parkman,  Mo 
J.  Reed,  I.,  p.  119. 


1775-    Baker  (4  Force,  II.,  1735)  gave  the  names 
ontcalm,  I.,  pp.  371,  480,  485  ;  II.,  p.  255.     W.  B.  Reed, 


The  Indian  Tribes  275 

a  mission  on  a  commanding  ridge  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Oswegatchie,  where  Ogdensburg  has  now  built  its  thriv 
ing  warehouses.  Many  from  the  Six  Nations,  particu 
larly  Mohawks  and  Onondagas,  were  drawn  to  it;  and 
some  of  these,  with  other  Iroquois,  removing  to  the 
Rapids  of  Lachine,  founded  the  '  Castle'  of  Caughnawaga. 
Some,  or  perhaps — as  John  Brown  stated — all  the  chiefs 
of  this  tribe  were  '  of  Knglish  extraction  Captivated  in 
their  infancy  ' ;  and  the  blood  of  their  leaders,  no  less 
than  their  central  position,  gave  this  little  band  of  less 
than  two  hundred  effective  warriors  a  certain  leadership, 
it  would  appear,  in  the  statecraft  of  the  northern  con 
federacy.  But  each  of  the  tribes  had  its  governor,  so 
Captain  Baker  stated;  and,  meeting  in  conference,  they 
selected  a  chief  magistrate,  to  exercise  a  vague  authority 
over  the  whole  body.3 

North  and  west  of  these  loose  but  important  leagues — 
the  Iroquois  and  the  Seven  Nations — raged  an  almost 
unknown  sea  of  painted  red-men.  The  wild  Ottawas 
and  the  broken  yet  still  warlike  Hurons  were  the  surf  at 
its  edge.  Beyond  these,  a  whole  pageful  of  uncouth 
names  represented  possibilities  of  savage  invasion  that  no 
sagacity  could  fathom;  and  the  foulness  of  Indian  war 
fare  deepened  and  blackened  toward  the  west  into  the 
stark  horror  of  absolute  cannibalism.4 

As  for  the  aborigines  themselves,  the  clash  of  arms 
between  England  and  her  Colonies  darted  strange  notes 
of  perplexity,  of  menace,  and — above  all — of  excitement 
into  their  very  hearts.  When  the  red  flag  and  the  white 
met  in  battle,  they  understood  it,  for  had  not  the  Mohawk 
lifted  the  scalp  of  the  Huron  ?  But  what  could  it  mean 


3  §  Parkman,  Montcalm,  I.,  pp.  64,  171,  478,  etc.      J.  Wheelock  on  Can. 
Inds.,  May,  1779:  Wheelock  Papers.    Caugh.  is  said  to  be  Iroquo's  for   '  At  the 
Rapids':  Hist.  Mag.,  1864^.373.      Brown:  Mass.  Arch.,  Vol.  193,  p.  41.    200 :J. 
I<iv.,   Aug.  — ,   1775  (Emmet   Coll.).    The  chiefs  asserted  that  they  had   300. 
Baker:  Note  2. 

4  Parkman,  Montcalm,  I.,  pp.  478,  479,  etc. 


276  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

that  Englishmen  were  levelling  the  musket  at  English 
men,  that  the  great  King  of  the  British  sent  warriors  to 
mow  down  his  own  children  ? 

What  will  become  of  the  tender  shoots  of  civilization 
among  us,  in  such  a  chaos  ?  asked  the  more  enlightened. 


CAUGHNAWAGA   IN   1903 

How  can  our  feeble  alliances,  always  in  danger  of  break 
ing  asunder,  bear  the  strain  of  these  contending  friend 
ships  and  interests  ?  reflected  the  statesmen.  How  can  the 
rash  young  braves  be  kept  from  turning  a  difficult  into  a 
hopeless  problem  ?  reasoned  the  elders.  What  will 
become  of  our  trade,  without  which  we  cannot  live  ?  said 
the  prudent.  Shall  we  not  find  ourselves  at  last  between 
the  upper  and  the  nether  millstones?  asked  the  sages. 


Signs  of  Danger  277 

'Blood,    booty,    scalps,    brandy,  revenge!'    shrieked   the 
young  men  when  they  dared.5 

In  May,  news  came  to  the  Massachusetts  Congress 
that  the  Indians  on  a  hunt  near  Brownfield,  in  the 
district  of  Maine,  seemed  strangely  excited.  *  They  can't 
hunt,  eat,  nor  sleep,'  said  a  squaw;  '  keep  calling  together 
every  night;  courting,  courting,  courting,  every  night, 
all  night.  O,  strange,  Englishmen  kill  one  another  !  I 
think  the  world  is  coming  to  an  end  !  '8  Might  not  this 
excitement  of  the  wild  folk,  spreading  electrically  through 
the  forest  like  the  mysterious  quiver  of  its  leaves  before 
the  tempest,  betoken  a  storm  of  savage  fury,  soon  to 
break  the  bonds  of  a  great  fear,  and  burst  upon  the 
whites  in  a  whirlwind  of  blood  and  fire  ? 

In  studying  the  problem  of  the  woods,  the  Colonials 
found  themselves  face  to  face  with  a  very  unpleasant  fact. 
The  Indians  were  in  reality  wards  of  the  British.  For 
a  long  time  they  had  been  accustomed  to  depend  upon  the 
government.  In  Canada,  as  we  have  seen,  St.  Luc  La 
Come  had  been  their  Superintendent  under  the  king  of 
France,  and  Campbell,  La  Corne's  son-in-law,  held  that 
office  now.  Among  the  Iroquois,  Sir  William  Johnson 
had  lorded  it  mightily  from  the  rude  baronial  mansion 
on  the  hill  near  Johnstown,  and  his  rare  talent  for  both 
winning  and  commanding  the  Indians  was  reinforced  by 
a  marriage — or  what  they  doubtless  regarded  as  a  marri 
age—between  him  and  Molly  Brant,  sister  of  the  Mohawk 
chief.  Sir  William  had  recently  departed  the  scene;  but 
Sir  John,  who  occupied  the  Hall,  Colonel  Guy,  who 
became  the  Indian  Superintendent,  and  Daniel  Claus,  a 
son-in-law,  who  acted  as  the  Deputy-Superintendent, 
might  all  of  them  together  fill  his  place,  perhaps;  and 

5  §  Based  upon  a  priori  reasoning-  and  a  variety  of  hints,  many  of  which 
will  appear  later. 

6  Brownfield  Com.  to  Mass.  Cong.,  May  16,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  621.     '  Court 
ing  '  appears  to  mean  gathering  in  council. 


278  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

certainly  they  would  aid  the  King  to  the  extent  of  their 
power.  In  the  west,  the  bond  held  more  loosely,  no 
doubt,  yet  perhaps  was  no  less  real.7 

Both  the  hands  and  the  ears  of  the  Indians  were  open 
to  their  Superintendents;  and  one  reckoned  easily  enough 
the  influence  of  those  arguments,  persuasions,  threats, 
promises,  and  presents,  which  the  British  government 
could  well  afford  to  supply.  To  be  sure,  the  manufac 
tured  articles  needed  by  the  Iroquois  came  chiefly  through 
New  York,  and  many  of  the  other  tribes  were  partly,  if 
not  mainly,  supplied  by  the  Colonies;  but,  should  the 
American  seaports  be  stopped  and  the  feeble  manufactur 
ing  of  the  Provincials  be  checked  by  war,  while  the  way 
to  England  through  Canada  remained  open,  resentment 
and  interest  alike  would  draw  the  Indians  more  and  more 
closely  to  the  government. 

Besides,  the  redoubtable  Iroquois  felt  none  too  friendly 
toward  the  New  Yorkers.  Little  by  little,  yet  rapidly, 
they  had  seen  Fort  Orange,  a  wretched  pile  of  logs,  grow 
up  into  the  busy  and  aggressive  town  of  Albany.  They 
had  watched  the  settlers  push  out  and  speedily  change 
from  trembling  pioneers  into  rich  and  haughty  magnates. 
Hendrick,  the  famous  chief  of  the  Mohawks,  though  he 
died  fighting  for  the  Colonists,  complained  that  ere  long, 
should  an  Indian  find  a  bear  in  a  tree,  before  he  could  kill 
the  animal  some  white  man  would  appear  and  say  it  was 
his.  Constant  encroachment  had  been  the  rule,  as  the 
natives  thought ;  and  the  dangerous  Mohawks  had  felt 
the  pressure  most.  Nor  had  the  suaviter  in  modo 
softened  \hefortiter  in  re.  Hard  men  were  those  Dutch 
merchants  of  Albany  oftentimes,  and  not  always  over- 

^  Johnstown :  Elmer,  Journal,  p.  TIQ  ;  Bloomfield  (N.  J.  Hist.  Soc.  Proc.,  II., 
p.  116).  West:  the  correspondence  of  the  governors  of  Quebec  gives  along 
series  of  hints.  Marriage:  cf.  Haldimand  to  Johnson,  Sept.  g,  1779  (Can.  Arch., 
B,  107,  p.  35)  with  Ix>ssing,  Schuyler,  I.,  p.  353.  Sir  John  :  Carleton  to  Germain, 
July  8,  1776  (Bancroft  Coll.,  E)ng.  and  Am.,  Aug.,  i775-Dec.,  1776,  p.  461).  Guy 
and  Claus:  Ind.  Trans.,  Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Am.  and  W.  Ind.,  Vol.  280,  p.  9. 


Steps  to  Win  the  Savages  279 

nice;  and,  between  the  tricks  of  the  speculators  in  land 
and  the  extortions — not  to  say,  lies — of  the  traders,  many 
a  sullen  Iroquois  found  himself  well  lined  with  grudges. 
The  Canadian  Indians,  to  be  sure,  had  not  these  inflam 
mable  recollections;  but,  if  they  did  not  hate  the  Colo 
nials,  they  feared  the  British,  which,  at  this  crisis, 
amounted  to  about  the  same  thing.  Not  very  powerful 
at  best,  they  stood  between  the  regulars  and  the 
Canadians;  and,  if  those  two  parties  agreed  upon  a  line 
of  march,  their  own  route  lay  clearly  in  the  same 
direction.8 

More  or  less  informed  of  these  dangers,  the  Colonial 
authorities  felt  anxious  from  the  first.  All  the  leverage 
the}"  possessed  was  made  to  do  its  work.  *  We  pray  you 
to  use  every  effort  to  preserve  and  improve  the  present 
peaceable  dispositions  '  of  the  Indians,  wrote  New  York  to 
her  sister  Connecticut,  when  troops  were  to  occupy  the 
lake  forts;  and,  while  Arnold  bore  sway  in  that  quarter, 
the  Continental  Congress  ordered  him  to  secure  and  pre 
serve  their  friendship.  General  Schuyler,  who  had  been 
adopted  by  the  Mohawks,  and  was  called  a  chief  under 
Indian  names  by  the  Mohawks  and  Oneidas,  had  no  little 
influence  with  the  savages,  and  exerted  it  all.  '  Old  Put,' 
a  hero  among  Indians  as  well  as  whites,  addressed  a 
letter  to  the  Caughnawagas.9 

A  few  years  before,  Eleazar  Wheelock,  a  heroic 
minister,  had  gone  up  the  Connecticut  into  New  Hamp 
shire,  and,  among  the  tall  pines  of  Hanover  plain,  laid 
the  foundations  of  Dartmouth  College.  The  son  of  the 
head  sachem  at  St.  Francis,  the  brother  of  a  Caughna- 
waga  sachem,  and  a  considerable  number  of  others  from 
the  northern  tribes  were  in  attendance  there  in  the  spring 


8  §  Ft.  Orange :  Parktnan,  Jesuits,  p.  229.    Id.,  Montcalm,  I.,  171,  172,  320,  390. 

9  §  N.  Y.  to  Conn.,  May  24,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  1248.     Journ.  Cong.,  June  16, 
1775.     Schuyler:    lyossing,   Schuj'ler,  I.,  pp.  66,  387.      Putnam:    Brown  to  S. 
Adams,  Mar.  29,  1775  (Mass.  Arch.,  Vol.  193,  p.  41). 


280  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

of  1775;  and  the  Continental  Congress,  poor  though  it 
felt,  appropriated  five  hundred  dollars  to  continue  the 
work  of  educating  them  and  so  maintaining  this  bond. 
In  March,  Wheelock  sent  James  Dean,  one  of  his  helpers, 
into  Canada  '  to  strengthen  and  perpetuate  the  Friend 
ship  lately  commenced'  between  his  College  and  the  north 
ern  Indians;  and  as  Dean,  brought  up  and  naturalized 
among  the  Six  Nations,  was  considered  a  great  orator  by 
the  Caughnawagas,  Wheelock  felt  well  convinced  that 
this  connection  would  prove  'our  strongest  bulwark.' 
Fired  with  apostolic  energy,  the  missionary  pushed  his 


way — on  foot,  a  great  part  of  the  distance  beyond  Crown 
Point — through  the  snows  and  ice  of  that  raging  sea 
son  to  Caughnawaga,  and  a  fellow-evangelist,  Walcott, 
labored  at  St.  Francis.10 

Among  the  Iroquois,  Samuel  Kirkland  had  been 
preaching  for  six  years.  Notwithstanding  his  cloth,  as 
he  once  remarked,  he  interpreted  the  proceedings  of  Con 
gress  to  the  Oneida  sachems,  and  for  doing  that  Guy 
Johnson  forbade  him  to  speak  so  much  as  a  word  to  the 
Indians;  but  he  continued,  in  the  triple  character  of 
envoy,  interpreter,  and  preacher,  to  wield  a  great 
influence  among  them.  Much  was  due  to  him,  said 
Washington;  and  Congress,  besides  appropriating  three 
hundred  dollars  for  his  travelling  expenses,  recommended 

10  §  Chase,  Hanover.  Wheelock  to  Trumbull,  Mar.,  16,  1775:  Wheelock 
Papers  and  4  Force,  II.,  152.  Narrative,  ib.,  1594.  Journ.  Cong.,  July  12. 
Wheelock  to  N.  H.  Cong.,  June  28,  1775:  Wheelock  Papers.  Dean  to  Wheelock, 
Apr.  4,  1775:  Emmet  Coll.  See  also  4  Force,  III.,  1924;  Hist.  Mag.,  2nd  Ser.^ 
VI.,  pp.  239,  240. 


Steps  to  Win  the  Savages  281 

his  employment  among  the  Six  Nations  at  the  public 
charge,  'in  order  to  secure  their  friendship  and  to  con 
tinue  them  in  a  state  of  neutrality.'  Other  dissenting 
ministers  worked  in  the  same  peaceful  direction,  and 
England  recognized  their  influence  by  ordering  them,  one 
and  all,  to  leave  the  Iroquois.11 

In  June,  Bayley  addressed  the  northern  tribes  with  a 
piquancy  that  must  have  gone  to  their  hearts:  '  We  only 
want  to  live  as  we  have  heretofore;  we  do  not  want  to  fight, 
if  they  would  let  us  alone.  You  are  as  much  threatened  as 
we;  they  want  you  to  kill  us,  then  they  will  kill  you,  if  you 
will  not  serve  them.  Dreadful  wicked  men  they  be;  .  .  . 
But  I  know  you  will  be  friendly,  and  you  may  depend 
upon  us.  ...  We  [Colonials]  are  now  all  brothers, 
and  we  will  be  so  with  you;  for  one  God  made  us  all,  and 
all  must  meet  before  God  in  a  little  while.'12 

Massachusetts  took  formal  steps  to  influence  the 
Indians.  In  April,  a  curious  appeal,  drafted  by  Samuel 
Adams,  went  in  Kirkland's  hand  to  the  dreaded  Mo 
hawks:  '  Brothers,  they  have  made  a  law  to  establish  the 
religion  of  the  Pope  in  Canada,  which  lies  so  near  you. 
We  much  fear  some  of  your  children  may  be  induced, 
instead  of  worshiping  the  only  true  God,  to  pay  his  due 
to  images  made  with  their  own  hands. '  Andrew  Gilman, 
Gentleman,  received  instructions  to  cultivate  peaceful 
relations  with  the  St.  Francis  Indians.  Great  pains  were 
taken  to  hold  the  good- will  of  the  tribes  living  east  of  the 
Penobscot.  The  attention  of  the  Continental  Congress 
was  earnestly  invited  to  the  danger  from  the  Iroquois; 
and  Jonathan  Edwards' s  parishioners,  the  Stockbridges, 
bravely  struggling  to  civilize  themselves  among  the 
Berkshire  hills,  were  enlisted  in  the  patriot  cause  as 


i !  §  Conn.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  II.,  p.  330,  note.  Kirkland  to  Albany  Com.,  June 
3,  1775:  4  Force.,  II.,  1309.  Wash,  to  Cont.  Cong.,  Sept.  30,  1775:  4  Force,  III., 
352.  Secret  Journ.  Cong.,  July  17,  1775. 

1 2  §  Bayley,  June  23,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  1070. 


282  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

minute-men,  and  rigged  out  with  a  blanket  and  a  yard 
of  ribbon  apiece.  13 

Touching  indeed,  as  well  as  important,  was  the  course 
of  these  people,  once  able  to  muster  a  thousand  warriors 
but  now  only  a  handful.  On  the  eleventh  of  April,  after 
a  council  of  nearly  two  days,  their  chief  sachem — as  the 
voice  of  his  tribe — despatched  this  message  to  the  Con 
gress  of  the  Colony14: 

'Brothers:  You  remember  when  you  first  came  over  the 
great  waters,  I  was  great  and  you  was  little — very  small. 
I  then  took  you  in  for  a  friend,  and  kept  you  under  my 
arms,  so  that  no  one  might  injure  you.  .  .  .  But  now 
our  conditions  are  changed;  you  are  become  great  and 
tall;  you  reach  up  to  the  clouds;  you  are  seen  all  round 
the  world;  and  I  am  become  small,  very  little;  I  am  not 
so  high  as  your  heel.  Now  you  take  care  of  me,  and  I 
look  to  you  for  protection.  .  .  . 

'Brothers:  whenever  I  see  your  blood  running,  you  will 
soon  find  me  about  you  to  revenge  my  brothers'  blood. 
Although  I  am  low  and  very  small,  I  will  gripe  hold  of 
your  enemy's  heel,  that  he  cannot  run  so  fast  and  so 
light,  as  if  he  had  nothing  at  his  heels.'  So  then,  if  you 
please,  I  will  'take  a  run  to  the  Westward  and  feel  the 
minds'  of  the  Six  Nations,  who  have  'always  looked 
this  way  for  advice  concerning  all  important  news  that 
comes  from  the  rising  of  the  sun.  ...  If  I  find 
they  are  against  you,  I  will  try  to  turn  their  minds.' 

'Brothers,'  replied  the  Congress,  'though  you  are 
small,  yet  you  are  wise.  Use  your  wisdom  to  help  us. 
If  you  think  it  best,  go  and  smoke  your  pipe  with  your 
Indian  brothers  towards  the  setting  of  the  sun,  and  tell 


i3  §  Adams,  Apr.  4,  1775:  4  Force,  I.,  1340;  Wells,  S.  Adams,  II.,  p.  282, 
Oilman,  June  25,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  1444.  Eastern  Inds. :  ib.,  942,  1501,  etc. 
Mass,  to  N.  Y.  Cong.,  June  13,  1775:  ib.,  1319.  Stockbridges,  Apr.  i,  1775:  4 
Force,  I.,  1347. 

i*  §  4  Force,  II.,  315.  With  reference  to  the  Stockbridges,  see  Dewey 
Berkshire," and  Pope :  West.  Boundary.  They  have  been  called  Mohegans. 


The  Stockbridges  283 

them  all  you  hear,  and  all  you  see,  and  let  us  know  what 
their  wise  men  say.'16 

In  May  the  embassy  set  out,  but  for  some  reason 
concluded  to  go  north  instead  of  west.  At  the 
lakes,  Arnold  gave  the  envoys  a  letter  of  introduction 
to  Walker,  and  Allen — 'By  Advice  of  Council' — gave 
them  an  epistle  to  the  Caughnawagas ;  and  then,  as 
they  bent  their  steps  toward  Montreal,  accompa 
nied  by  the  same  Winthrop  Hoyt  that  had  guided 
John  Brown  on  his  journey  to  Canada,  they  received 
further  aid  from  the  British;  for  they  were  seized  by 
the  regulars,  tried  by  a  court-martial  on  the  charge  of 
coming  to  inflame  the  Indians  against  the  troops,  and 
condemned  to  be  hung.  Excitement  rose  high  in  Caughna- 
waga  Castle.  Said  the  sachems  to  Carleton:  '  If  you 
think  it  best  for  you  to  han-g  these,  our  brothers,  that 
came  a  great  way  to  see  us,  doit;  but  remember,  we  shall 
not  forget  it.'  Finally,  the  visitors  were  released,  but 
that  mercy  could  not  extinguish  all  the  resentment,  and 
their  mission  was  so  much  the  more  effective.  Not 
without  reason,  probably,  did  Ethan  Allen  count  *  the 
imperious  and  haughty  conduct '  of  the  British  troops  as 
an  influence  favorable  to  the  Colonies.18 

Many  were  the  arguments  brought  to  bear  on  those 
half-ripe  minds.  I^et  the  whites  destroy  one  another, 
and  we  shall  get  our  lands  back,  suggested  some  of  the 
shrewdest;  and,  as  that  idea  worked  for  neutrality,  the 
Colonials  did  not  complain  of  it.  This  is  a  war  of 
brothers,  urged  Cazeau,  a  Canadian  ally  of  theirs,  and 


1 5  4  Force,  II.,  937. 

1 6  §  By  accident  the  letter  of  the  Inds.  miscarried,  and  the  reply  of  the  Mass- 
Cong,  did  not  go  until  June  8.     Apparently  (as  the  text  assumes)  the  Stock- 
bridges  sent  off'  the  embassy  without  waiting  for  it.     Arnold  to  Walker,  May 
20,  1775:  Can.  Arch.,  Q,  n,  p.  192.     Id.  to  Cont.  Cong.,  June  13,  1775:  4  Force, 
II.,  976.     Allen  to  N.  Y.  Cong.,    June  2,  1775:  ib.,  8qi.      Id.  to  Caugh.,  May  24, 
1775:   Can.  Arch.,    Q,    n,  p.  193.    B.  Deane  to  S.  D.,  June  i,   1775:  Conn.   Hist. 
Soc.  Coll.,  II.,  p.  246.    Tn  Can.:  Stock,  to  memb.  Mass.  Cong.,  June,  22,  1775  (4 
Force,    II.,  1060);  Verreau  (Sanguinet),  Invasion,  p.  40.     Arnold.,  Regt.  Mem. 
Book,  June  5.     Allen  to  Mass.  Cong.,  June  9,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  939. 


284  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

when  it  is  over,  if  you  have  taken  sides,  both  will  hate- 
you.  Walker  reasoned  in  the  same  way.  As  for  the 
American  Congress,  it  did  not  shrink  from  employing 
Indians  against  British  forces  that  used  them,  but  it  pre 
ferred  to  eliminate  the  savages  from  the  contest,  and  its 
efforts  pointed  in  that  direction.17 

'Brothers  and  friends,  open  a  kind  ear! '  in  this  wise  it 
addressed  the  Iroquois  ;  'Brothers,  listen!  .  .  .  This  is 
a  family  quarrel  between  us  and  Old  England.  You 
Indians  are  not  concerned  in  it.  We  don't  wish  you  to 
take  up  the  hatchet  against  the  king's  troops.  We 
desire  you  to  remain  at  home  and  not  join  on  either  side, 
but  keep  the  hatchet  buried  deep.'  A  pictorial  version 
of  taxation  without  representation,  well  adapted  to  the 
aboriginal  mind,  was  presented,  and  this  keen  hint  planted 
at  the  same  time:  'Brothers,  observe  well  !  ...  If  the 
king's  troops  take  away  our  property,  and  destroy  us 
who  are  of  the  same  blood  with  themselves,  what  can. 
you,  who  are  Indians,  expect  from  them  afterwards  ?  ' 

A  warning  against  the  tales  of  the  British  followed: 
'Brothers,  .  .  .  This  island  now  trembles,  the  wind 
whistles  from  almost  every  quarter — let  us  fortify  our 
minds  and  shut  our  ears  against  false  rumours — let  us  be 
cautious  what  we  receive  for  truth,  unless  spoken  by  wise 
and  good  men.' 

'Let  this  our  good  talk  [that  is,  the  belts  of  wampum 
which  represent  it]  remain  at  Onondaga,  your  central 
council  house,'  requested  the  Congress,  adding,  'We 
depend  upon  you  to  send  and  acquaint  your  allies  to  the 
northward,  the  seven  tribes  on  the  St.  Lawrence,  that  you 
have  this  talk  of  ours  at  the  great  council-fire  of  the  Six 
Nations.'  More  important  still,  Congress  established 


i?  §  Cazeau:  Garneau,  Canada,  II.,  p.  447-  Walker  to  S.  Adams,  Apr.  8, 
1775:  Mass.  Arch.,  Vol.  193,  p.  83.  Journ.  Cong.,  July  12,  1775.  Wash.  to. 
Schuyler,  Aug.  20,  1775 :  Writings  (Ford),  III.,  p.  86.  REMARK  XIV. 


REVEREND  ELEAZAR  WHEELOCK 


285 


UNIVERSITY 


ongress  Addresses  the  Indians         287 


three  Indian  departments  to  look  after  supplying  the 
savages  with  all  needed  goods,  especially,  'arms,  am 
munition,  and  cloathing  ';  to  treat  with  them  on  the  basis 
of  neutrality;  and,  by  appointing  what  were  called  in 
Parliament  'respectable'  traders,  to  prevent  extortion  on 
the  one  side  and  resentment  on  the  other.18 

But  the  main  argument  for  the  Indian  seemed  almost 
sure  to  be  force.  *  They  have  no  personal  prejudice  or 
controversy  with  the  United  Colonies,'  observed  Ethan 
Allen,  '  but  act  upon  political  principles,  and  consequently 
are  inclined  to  fall  in  with  the  strongest  side.'  The 
victories  on  the  lakes  appeared  to  be  more  hopeful 
influences  than  speeches  or  belts.  'The  King's  troops 
cannot  save  their  populous  towns  from  devastation,' 
wrote  Allen  and  Warner;  and  the  Indians  might  well 
dread  that  '  a  blow  at  the  root  '  would  follow,  should  they 
take  up  the  hatchet  without  provocation.  'Environ 
Montreal,'  said  Easton;  *  This  will  inevitably  fix  and 
confirm'  them,  especially  as  both  their  lives  and  supplies 
would  then  lie  solely  in  the  hands  of  the  Colonies. 
'  Secure  the  Government  of  Quebeck,'  echoed  Trumbull, 
'  and  thereby  the  whole  Indian  strength  in  our  interest 
and  favour.'  This  method  Congress  was  following.19 

How  was  such  a  complexity  of  inducements  and  pres 
sures  working  on  the  strange  mind  of  the  savage  ?  Many 
an  anxious  eye,  scanning  the  mysterious  face  of  the 
woods  day  by  day  and  hour  by  hour,  noted  signs  of  some 
thing  taking  place  behind  it;  and  various  indeed  were  the 
reports  and  interpretations. 

Walker  deemed  the  chiefs  wise  enough  to  keep  out  of 
a  quarrel  which  could  only  injure  them;  but  Wheelock, 

is  §  Journ.  Cong.,  July  12,  13,  1775.  House  of  Lords,  Mar.  5,  1776:  4  Force, 
VI.,  301. 

i9  §  Allen  to  Mass.  Cong.,  June  9,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  930.  A.  and  W.  to 
Dyer  and  Deane,  July  4,  1775:  Bancroft  Coll.,  Amer.  Papers,  II.,  p.  411  (413). 
Easton  to  Mass.  Cong.,  June  6,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  919.  Trumbull  to  Schuyler, 
July  24,1775:  ib.,  1721. 


288  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

despite  his  ardent  faith  in  the  L,ord  and  the  College,  had 
many  fears.  '  What  an  easy  prey  we  may  be,'  he 
exclaimed,  'to  such  a  northern  army  of  savages,  etc.  as 
we  are  threatened  with.'  Allen  declared  that  gaining 
the  sovereignty  of  Lake  Champlaiu  had  '  united  the 
temper  of  the  Indians  '  to  the  victors  ;  yet  he  and  Warner 
agreed  that  'Governor  Carlton,  with  the  influence  of 
Guy  Johnson  and  others,  but  above  all  by  rich  Presents ' 
might  seduce  them.  John  Brown  reported  in  March  that 
the  Caughnawagas,  'a  very  sinsible  Pollitick  People,'  had 
not  only  sent  Putnam  'assurence  of  their  Peaciable 
Desposition,'  but  promised  to  'take  part  on  the  Side  of 
their  Brethren  the  English  in  N.  England,'  if  compelled 
to  fight,  and  five  chiefs,  who  visited  Ticonderoga  early 
in  June,  used  extremely  good  words;  yet,  in  the  course 
of  the  latter  month,  reports  came  that  they  had  had  a 
war-dance,  and  taken  up  the  hatchet  for  the  King.  The 
eastern  red-men,  who  were  described  as  '  hearty  in  the 
cause,'  represented  the  Canadian  tribes  as  'all  of  the  same 
mind' ;  but  the  Continental  Congress  had  found  reason  to 
believe,  not  long  before,  that  Carleton  expected  the  savages 
to  help  recover  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point  for  him. 
Captain  Baker  was  told  by  the  Indians  in  July  that  the 
Seven  Nations  would  not  fight  the  Yankees,  but  the 
murder  of  a  white  near  Cherry  Valley — a  familiar  har 
binger  of  trouble — seemed  the  beginning  of  a  different 
story." 


,  Vol.  193,  p.  83. 

to  Trumbull,  Mar.  22,  1775:    Wells,  Newbury,  p.  73.      Id.  to ,  Mar.  16,  1775: 

Wheelock  Papers.  Allen  to  N.  Y.  Cong.,  June  2,  1775:  4 Force,  II.,  8qi.  A.  and 
W  :  Note  19  Brown  to  S.  Adams  et  al.,  Mar.  29,  1775 :  Mass.  Arch.,  Vol.  193,  p. 
41.  (See  also  Wheelock  to  J.  Trumbull,  June  19,  1775:  Wheelock  Papers.) 
Arnold's  report:  Trumbull  to  Warren,  June  19,  1775  (Journ.  Mass.  Cong.,  p. 
372).  Caugh.  hostile:  Trumbull  to  Mass.  Cong.,  June  27,  1775  (4  Force,  II., 
~i 1 16);  Stringer  to  Cont.  Cong.,  June  21,  1775  (ib.,  1048).  Oneidas :  4  Force,  II., 
1116;  Hollister,  Conn.,  II.,  p.  227.  Schuyler  to  Cont.  Cong.,  June  28,  1775:  4 
Force,  II.,  1123.  J3.  Indians:  Ivane  to  Mass.  Cong.,  June  9,  1775  (ib.,  942).  Cont. 
Cong  :  N  H  Deleg.  to  N.  H.  Com.,  May  22,  1775  (ib.,  669);  Journ.,  May  30 
{Arnold's  letter  of  May  23).  Baker,  Report,  July  26,  1775:  4  Force,  II  ,1735. 
Sachems:  Alb.  Com.  to  Schuyler,  July  26,  1775  (ib.,  i746).  Murder:  Chief  to 
Cherry  Val.  Com.  (ib  ,  1766).  The  refs.  add  some  facts  to  the  text. 


Conflicting  Omens  289 

Formal  assurances  of  goodwill  were  given  by  the  savages. 
'Brothers,    You    tell    me   that  I  must  sit  still,  and  have 
nothing  to  do  with  this  quarrel,'— so  ran  the  answer  of 
the  Caughnawagas  to  their  brethren,  the  Stockbridges; 
'I  am  glad  to  hear  you;  I  shall  do  as  you  tell  me. 
There  are  seven  brothers  of  us— we  are  all  agreed  in  this.' 
Chief  Louis  went  down  to  Cambridge  and  affirmed  that 
when   British   officers   put  '  two  Johannes  a-piece'  (about 
sixteen  dollars)  into  the  hands  of  the  young  men,   the 
chiefs  took  the  money  away  from  them  and  gave  it  back, 
warning  their  juniors,  'If  you  offer  to  engage,  we  will  put 
you  to  death.'     Swashan,  a  St.  Francis  chief,  who  visited 
Washington's  camp    a  few   weeks   later,    described    the 
Canadian  Indians  as  '  determined  not  to  act '  against  the 
Colonials.      Solomon,   King    of    the    Stockbridges,    an 
nounced  in  Pittsfield  that  the  Mohawks  had  not 'only 
permitted  his  tribe  to  aid  the  whites,  but  sent  word  by 
a  belt  that  five  hundred  braves  would  hold  themselves 
ready  to  join  it.     And  yet,  after  these  and  other  signs  of 
Indian  friendliness,    a  very  intelligent  gentleman    from 
Canada  warned  Governor  Trumbull  that  the  Caughna 
wagas  greatly  feared   the  regulars,  and    the  Americans 
ought  to  'provide  against  the  worst';  while,  as  for  the 
Iroquois,  the  New  York  Committee  of  Safety  heard  'from 
good     authority,'    about    the     middle    of    July,    that    a 
thousand  or  twelve  hundred  of  them  were  already  half 
way  to  Montreal.21 

Gradually,  out  of  this  chaos  of  reports  and  promises, 
the  chance  of  having  to  eat  one's  own  ears  emerged  with 
three  distinguishable  faces. 

News  from  Condon  represented  that  sterling  arguments 

2l§Caugrh.  reply,   June  15,   i77S:  4  Force,  II.,  1002.     Roseboom    July  TS 


The  Outlook  Clears  291 

each  stamped  with  the  King's  gracious  features,  were 
pouring  in  a  golden  flood  through  the  British  posts  in 
the  northwest,  and  Price  announced  that  I,a  Corne  had 
sent  an  embassy  with  war-belts  in  that  direction.  As  a 
measure  of  prudence,  the  New  York  Congress  cut  short 
the  journey  of  Captain  Patrick  Sinclair,  just  then  on  his 
way  to  govern  at  Michilimackinack,  but  apparently  no 
great  harm,  after  all,  was  likely  to  be  done  in  that 
quarter.22 

The  northern  Indians,  though  evidently  uncertain, 
appeared  more  and  more  to  have  the  same  friendly  dis 
position  as  the  Canadians,  with  whom  the  reports  com 
monly  bracketed  them;  and  it  seemed  as  if  a  successful 
campaign  above  the  border  would  be  enough  to  ensure 
their  good-will.  Indeed,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  dimly 
reported  to  the  Provincials,  they  took  the  ground,  in 
reply  to  a  summons  from  the  Governor,  that  they  did  not 
understand  the  matter  and  must  have  time  to  consider  it 
fully  before  acting,—  a  politic  form  of  declaring  their 
neutrality.23 

The  Iroquois,  however,  both  nearer  and  more  power 
ful,  threatened  to  be  also  more  unfriendly.  During  the 
latter  part  of  May,  Indian  chiefs  gave  notice  at  Phila 
delphia  that  Guy  Johnson  was  endeavoring  to  excite 
his  wards  against  the  Colonies  ;  Kirkland  sent  a  verbal 
message  to  the  same  effect;  and,  before  June  went  out, 
this  intelligence  was  considered  certain  at  Fort  George. 
Warm  notes  passed  between  the  New  York  authorities 
and  that  'High-flying  Tory.'  The  Indian  Superintend 
ent,  fortifying  his  house  and  invoking  Brant's  aid, 


22  §  Essex  Gazette,  Sept.  28,  1775.  Va.  Gazette,  July  „,  i775.  Price: 
Conn.  Com.  to  Conn.  Assem.,  May  23,  i775  (Journ.  Mass.  Cong.,  p.  707^> 
Sinclair:  N  Y.  Cong.,  Aug  3  I775  (4  Force,  II.,  1815).  Harm:  Wheelock  to 
Trumbull,  June  ig,  i775  (Wheelock  Papers). 

TJ  23  E.g.,  Brown,  Aug.  14,  i775:  4  Force,  III.,  135.  Neutrality:  Claus, 
Narrative  (No.  Am.  Notes  and  Queries,  I.,  i,  p.  24);  G.  Johnson  to  Dartmouth 
Oct.  12,  i775  (Pub.  Rec.  Off,  Am.  and  W.  Ind  ,  Vol  279  p  345) 


292  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

blustered  that  attempts  were  secretly  hatching  to  attack 
him;  and,  although  the  Albany  people  ridiculed  his 
'  terrible  ideas,'  the  natives  became  excited.  '  We  shall 
support  and  defend  our  Superintendent,'  said  a  leading 
Mohawk  chief.  This  was  ominous.  Not  less  so  the  com 
plaint  of  the  Iroquois  that  their  supplies  of  gunpowder 
from  New  York  had  been  stopped,  and  a  glimpse  of  three 
Indians  riding  home  from  Oswego  post-haste,  each  with 
a  bag  of  that  article  on  the  shoulders  of  his  pony.  In 
short,  about  the  middle  of  July,  the  Tryon  County  Com 
mittee  sent  word  to  Schenectady  and  Albany  that  eight 
hundred  or  nine  hundred  Indians  were  ready  to  begin 
their  bloody  forays.  Not  only  powder,  but  full  barrels  of 
rum,  had  been  provided,  and  ,£3,000  for  presents,  it  was 
said.  Johnson  himself  professed  a  warm  attachment  for 
'  the  innocent  inhabitants'  of  New  York,  and  proclaimed 
besides:  'My  duty  is  to  promote  peace';  but  Washing 
ton,  reading  between  the  lines  of  his  bland  assurances, 
inferred  that  'no  art  or  influence'  would  be  left  un 
tried  by  him  to  rouse  the  savages  against  their  white 
neighbors.24 

Such  was  the  truth.  'We  therefore  earnestly  desire 
you  to  whet  your  Hatchet,  and  be  prepared  with  us  to 
defend  our  liberties  and  lives,'  Massachusetts  had  written 
to  the  Mohawks  in  April;  some  of  Ed  wards'  s  more  or 
less  regenerated  Stockbridges  were  actually  under  arms; 
Indians  could  be  seen  in  Washington's  camp;  and  such 
facts  enabled  General  Gage  to  write  the  government: 


24  S  Cont  Cong  •  N  H  Delegs.  to  N.  H.  Com.,  May  22,  1775  (4  Force.  II., 
660)  Kirkland-  S.  Mott  to  Trumbull,  June  30,  J775  (Trumbult  Papers,  IV.,  p. 
124)-  4  Force,  II.,  1140.  Ft.  George,  June  29,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  1135.  N.  Y. 
and  Johnson :  4  Force,  II.,  638,  664,  665,  1275,  1669,  etc.  Alb.  Com.  to  Johnson, 
May  23  i77S :  ib.,  672.  G.  Johnson  lived  at  Guy  Park,  near  the  present  Amster 
dam:  Looting,  Schuyler,  I.,  p.  349-  Mohawk,  May  20,  1775,  to  Schenect.;  ib 
8^1  Gunoowder- ib  ,  1666.  Tryon  Co.:  ib.,  1666.  Rum  :  Roseboom  before  Alb. 
Sub-Corn  July  15  (ib.,  1747).  Presents :  Wheelock  to  N.  H.  Cong.,  June  28, 
i77S  (ib  1181  1541  •  Wheelock  Papers),  lohnson  to  N.  Y.  Cong.,  July  8,  1775:  4 
Force  II.,  1669.  Id.  to  Schenect.  Com  ,  May  18,  1775:  ib.,  638.  Wash,  to  Sch., 
July  28,  1775  :ib.,  1747- 


British  Efforts  293 

'  we  need  not  be  tender  in  calling  upon  the  Savages,  as 
the  Rebels  have  shown  us  the  Example.'  Accordingly, 
early  in  May,  he  sent  Guy  Johnson  secret  instructions, 
the  tenor  of  which  could  be  divined  from  the  con 
sequences.25 

On  finding  his  designs  blocked  by  the  New  Yorkers, 
Johnson  left  home,  the  latter  part  of  that  month,  with 
two  hundred  and  fifty  Tories  and  Mohawks;  and,  after 
halting  at  Fort  Stanwix  for  a  council,  went  on  to 
Oswego.  There,  on  the  high  plateau  east  of  the  river, 
where  Montcalm  had  broken  triumphantly  through  the 
star-shaped  enclosure  of  palisades  named  Fort  Ontario, 
he  soon  assembled  fourteen  hundred  and  fifty-eight  red 
skins  and  one  hundred  whites.  After  a  long  council, 
both  Iroquois  and  Hurons  agreed  warmly  to  accept  his 
presents  and  arms,  and  to  support  the  King's  troops  in 
1  the  annoyance  of  the  Enemy.'  Then  Johnson  deter 
mined  to  embark  for  Montreal,  with  as  many  of  them  as 
he  could  transport — two  hundred  and  twenty  picked  war 
riors  and  rangers— and,  if  it  was  possible,  '  inspire  their 
dependants  in  Canada  with  the  same  Resolutions.'  a6 

Leaving  Oswego  on  the  eleventh  of  July  in  a  sloop 
and  four  or  five  boats,  this  party  threaded  the  shadowy 
passages  of  the  Thousand  Isles,  plunged  through  the 
rapids  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  set  up  their  wigwams  at 
Lachine,  over  against  Caughnawaga,  within  sight  and 

2  5  §  Mass.,  Apr.  4,  1775 :  4  Force,  I.,  1350.  Gage  to  Secy.  State,  June  12, 177=5 ' 
Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Am.  and  W.  Ind.,  Vol.  420,  p.  224.  Secret  instr  :  Johnson  to 
Dartmouth,  Oct.  12,  1775  :ib..  Vol.  279,  p.  345  ;  No.  Am.  Notes  and  Q.,  I.,  i,  p.  23. 

26  §  For  Johnson's  operations:  Extracts  from  Records  of  Ind  Trans. 
(Pub.  Rec  Off,  Am.  and  W.  Ind.,  Vol.  280,  p.  9) ;  Precis  of  Oper.  (ib.,  Voi.  290, 
p.  i);  Johnson  to  Dartmouth,  Oct.  12,  1775  (ib.,  Vol.  279,  p.  345);  Dartmouth  to 
Johnson,  July  24,  i775  (ib.,  p.  247);  Account  of  presents  (Can.  Arch.,  M,  104, 
p.  202) ;  Claus  s  narrative  (No  Am.  Notes  and  Queries,  I.,  i,  p.  23)  ;  Johnson  to 
Haldimand,  Jan.  n,  1783  (Can.  Arch.,  B,  106,  p.  204);  Carlelon  to  Dartmouth 
June  7,  26,  1775  (Pub.  Rec.  Off,  Colon  Corres.,  Quebec,  n,  pp.  283,  309);  Id.  to 
Id.,  Aug.  14,  1775  (Can.  Arch.,  Q,  n,  pp.  222);  Quebec  letter,  Oct  i  1775(4 
Force,  III.,  925);  J.  I,iv.  to  Schuyler,  Aug.  — ,  i775  (Emmet  Coll.);  Brown  to 
Trumbull,  Aug.  14,  1775  (4  Force,  III.  135).  Ft.  Ontario:  Parkman,  Montcalm, 
I.,  p.  410.  REMARK  XV. 


294  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

sound  of  the  grey  tumbling  waters  of  the  long  Sault.  A 
message  to  the  Seven  Nations  went  forth  at  once,  and 
within  two  weeks  nearly  seventeen  hundred  of  them 
gathered.  Influenced  by  arguments,  presents,  and  the 
contagion  of  excitement,  they  now  'readily  agreed  to  the 


y 


same  measures  engaged  by  the  Six  Nations,'  though 
Johnson  confessed  that  their  minds  had  been  '  corrupted  by 
New  England  Emissaries,  &  most  of  them  discouraged 
by  the  backwardness  of  the  Canadians.'  The  war-song 
was  sung,  the  war-belts  and  hatchets  were  given  and 
taken,  and  Johnson,  roasting  an  ox  and  broaching  a  pipe 
of  red  wine,  invited  the  Indians  to  eat  the  emblematic 
but  nutritious  'Bostonian  '  and  to  drink  his  emblematic 
but  intoxicating  'blood.'  27 

Without  loss  of  time,  he  next  called  upon  the  Governor 
*  to  put  the  Indians  as  soon  as  possible  in  motion  as  they 
were  unaccustomed  to  remain  L,ong  Idle.'  But  here 
came  a  pause.  The  British  government,  three  thousand 
miles  away,  could  possibly  think  of  the  savages  as 
valiant  though  undisciplined  warriors,  merely  liable  to 
be  over-much  in  earnest  on  occasions,  and  might  not 
squirm  when  Shelburne  in  the  House  of  Lords  denounced 
the  plan  to  turn  them  loose  on  the  Colonies  as  a 
'  barbarous  measure'  and  a  '  cowardly  attempt  '28;  but  a 


27  §  See  also  Schuyler  to  Wash,    and    to    Hancock,   Dec.    14,  15,  1775:  4 
Force,  IV.,  260,  282. 

28  Nov.  10,  1775:  4  Force,  VI.,  133. 


Carleton  Checks  Johnson  295 

glimpse  of  Lachine  would  have  told  it  a  still  harsher  tale. 
Within  a  few  days,  the  blue  flame  of  alcohol  began  to 
mount  under  their  volatile  wits.  Canadian  nobles  them 
selves  placed  the  cup  of  brandy  at  their  lips  and  said, 
Drink!  Piece  by  piece,  clothing  was  exchanged  for 
liquor;  and  with  it  fell  off  what  rags  of  civilization  had 
been  picked  up.  Nakedness,  paint,  debauchery,  madness, 
wild  firing  of  guns,  yells,  bedlam,  pandemonium,  hell, 
took  possession  of  their  camp,  and  they  became  more 
troublesome — perhaps  more  dangerous — to  friends  than 
to  foes. 

When  Johnson  urged  they  be  set  at  work,  the  Gov 
ernor  demanded  to  see  them,  and  one  look  was  evidently 
enough.  Depending  mainly,  as  he  told  Johnson  that  he 
did,  on  the  Canadians,  he  could  not  risk  the  consequences 
of  sending  such  warriors  against  their  neighbors.  Hop 
ing  still  to  see  the  Colonials  reconciled  to  the  mother- 
country,  he  deemed  it  bad  policy  to  skin  some  of  them 
alive  and  roast  others.  Motives  of  sheer  humanity  rein 
forced  this  prudence.  The  friendship  of  the  Indians 
he  no  doubt  considered  *  absolutely  necessary,'29  and  he 
thought  they  might  be  used  rightfully  in  defence  of  the 
province;  but  he  flatly  refused  to  scatter  this  nest  of 
scorpions,  this  den  of  serpents,  these  red  firebrands  of 
Gehenna  upon  the  women  and  children  of  the  frontier.30 
When  a  party  under  Remember  Baker  fired  on  some  Ind 
ians,  Johnson  begged  again  for  permission  to  move;  but 
Carleton  replied  sternly  that  'no  one  thing  had  yet 
happened  to  make  him  alter  his  Opinion.'  In  vain  John 
son  appealed  to  Gage's  instructions;  in  vain  the  savages 
complained  that  the  hatchet  would  cut  them,  unless  they 


29  Carleton  to  Dartmouth,  Aug.  14,  1775:  Can.  Arch.,  Q,  n,  p.  222.    See 
Brant's  statement:  I/ossing,  Schuyler,  I.,  p.  357.  / 

30  Carleton  to  Dartmouth,  Oct.  25,  1775:  Bancroft  Coll.,  Eng.  and  Am  , 
Aug.,  i775-Dec.,  1776,  p.  133. 


296  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

dulled  its  edge  on  some  foe.  About  a  hundred  of  them 
were  sent  over  to  St.  Johns  ;  five  hundred  in  all  remained 
in  the  camps  near  Montreal;  and  the  rest,  as  August 
wore  away,  gradually  disbanded,  assuring  Johnson  of 
their  willingness  to  return,  whenever  scalps  could  be 
taken. 

Meanwhile  the  Colonials,  though  ill-informed  as  to  the 
details  of  these  movements,  took  their  precautions.  In 
June,  some  Oneidas  advised  holding  a  conference  at 
Albany;  and,  since  Johnson's  departure  could  be  re 
garded  as  extinguishing  the  old  council-fire,  a  good 
reason  for  such  an  innovation  could  be  offered  the 
Indians.31 

Congress  acted  on  the  hint.  'We  judge  it  wise  and 
expedient,'  added  the  Great  Fathers  in  their  Talk  to  the 
Iroquois,  'to  kindle  up  a  small  council  fire  at  Albany, 
where  we  may  hear  each  other's  voice,  and  disclose  our 
minds  more  fully  to  each  other.'  Accordingly,  Colonel 
Francis  and  Mr.  Douw,  of  the  Commissioners,  met  Indian 
delegates  at  German  Flats  on  the  fifteenth  of  August, 
and  proposed  in  the  name  of  the  'Twelve  United  Colo 
nies,  dwelling  upon  this  island  of  America,'  that  invita 
tions  be  issued.  And  then  Kanaghquaesa,  an  Oneida 
sachem,  standing  up  like  a  pine  of  the  forest,  with  all 
solemnity  made  answer 32 : 

'Brother  Solihoany  and  our  Albany  Brother,  Com 
missioners  from  the  Twelve  United  Colonies,  you  have 
now  opened  your  minds.  We  have  heard  your  voices. 
Your  speeches  are  far  from  being  contemptible.  But,  as 
the  day  is  far  spent,  we  defer  a  reply  till  tomorrow.  As 
we  are  weary  from  having  sat  long  in  council,  we  think 


31  Oneidas:  Schuyler  to  Cont.  Cong.,  June  29,  1775  (4  Force,  II  ,  1133). 

32  §  Journ.    Cong.,    July  13,1775.      For  the  council  at  Albany  and  its  pre 
liminaries,  see  4  Force,  III.,  473-493  ;  Schuyler  to  N.  Y.  Cong.,  Aug.  23,  1775:  ib., 
243  ;  Barlow,  Journal,  Aug.  22,  25  ;  Boston  Gazette,  Sept.,  u,  1775,  p.  2  ;  L,ossing, 
Schuyler,  I.,  p.  388  ;  Jones,  N.  Y.,  I.,  p.  373  ;  Journ.  Cong.,  July  13  ;  Nov.  23. 


liLl^    PfebMf^\ 


298  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

it  time  for  a  little  drink;  and   you  must  remember   that 
Twelve  Colonies  are  a  great  body.' 

The  drink  appears  to  have  been  equally  great;  and  on 
the  morrow  Tiahogwando  of  Onondaga  accepted  the  pro 
posal  of  the  day  before,  though  he  returned  the  belt  which 
signified  an  invitation  to  the  Canada  tribes.  'Brothers, 
possess  yourselves  in  peace,'  he  explained  ;  '  We  of  the 
Six  Nations  have  the  minds  of  the  Caughnawagas,  and 
the  Seven  Tribes  in  that  quarter,  at  our  central  council 

house. ' 

August  the  twenty-third,  Schuyler,  Chairman  of  the 
Indian  Commissioners  for  the  Northern  Department, 
accompanied  by  Francis,  Douw,  Kirkland,  Dean,  the 
Albany  Committee,  and  a  number  of  leading  citizens,  met 
the  heads  of  the  Indians  at  Cartwright's  Tavern,  invited 
them,  after  due  preliminaries,  'to  takea  drink,  and  smoke 
a  pipe,'  and  proposed  to  open  the  council  on  the  second 
day  thereafter. 

'We  are  glad  to  see  you,'  answered  Kanaghquaesa 
gravely.  'We  thank  God  that  we  meet  in  love  and 
friendship.  We  will  cheerfully  take  a  drink,  and  smoke 
a  pipe  with  you,  and  will  be  ready  to  proceed  to  business 
on  the  day  which  you  were  pleased  to  appoint  for  that 
purpose.' 

Two  days  later  the  public  bellman  ding-donged  the 
rounds  of  Albany,  and  all  with  time  to  spare  gathered  at 
the  Dutch  church.  In  a  large,  square  body  of  seats, 
about  seven  hundred  Indians  sate  with  all  dignity  by 
themselves.  Representing  the  party  of  peace  among  the 
Iroquois,  they  represented  also  the  party  of  civilization. 
Most  of  them  wore  ruffled  shirts,  Indian  stockings  and 
shoes,  and  blankets  richly  trimmed  with  silver  and 
wampum;  and  on  some  of  the  shaven  heads  laced  hats 
could  be  seen,  hiding  the  scalp-locks  as  Louis  the  Four 
teenth's  manners  did  his  heart.  'They  made  a  very 


A  Council-Fire  Lighted  299 

beautiful  show/  noted  Sergeant  Barlow  in  his  diary; 
'  They  were  the  likeliest  brightest  Indians  that  ever  I 
saw.' 

After  the  visitors  had  laid  certain  grievances  before  the 
Albany  Committee,  the  business  with  Schuyler  and  his 
colleagues  was  opened.  First,  the  great  pipe  of  peace 
travelled  slowly  round;  and  then  the  Commissioners  told, 
in  a  long  speech,  how  a  certain  father,  misled  by  proud 
and  ill-natured  servants,  had  added  and  still  added  to  the 
pack  of  his  little  son,  until  the  child,  '  so  faint  he  could 
only  lisp  his  last  humble  supplication,'  finding  that 
entreaties  were  of  no  avail,  threw  off  the  pack,  saying  to 
himself,  'It  will  crush  me  down,  and  kill  me  [to  carry  it 
longer]— and  I  can  but  die,  if  I  refuse';  and  how,  upon 
that,  the  wicked  servants  brought  a  great  cudgel  to  the 
father,  urging  him  to  take  it  in  his  riand  and  beat  the 
child:  'Thus  stands  the  matter  betwixt  old  England 
and  America. '  Finally,  a  white  belt  was  passed  to  the 
grirn  savages  in  ruffled  shirts,  and  the  Commissioners 
unfolded  the  desire  of  their  hearts  :  '  to  sit  down  under 
the  same  tree  of  peace '  with  them,  to  water  its  roots,  and 
to  cherish  its  growth  together. 

For  three  long  days  the  savages  wrestled  with  this 
proposition.  Then  Little  Abraham  made  answer,  and,  on 
coming  to  the  pith  of  the  question,  said: 

4  Now,  therefore,  attend,  and  apply  your  ears  closely. 
We  have  fully  considered  this  matter.  The  resolutions 
of  the  Six  Nations  are  not  to  be  broken  or  altered;  when 
they  resolve,  the  matter  is  fixed.  This,  then,  is  the 
determination  of  the  Six  Nations:  not  to  take  any  part, 
but,  as  it  is  a  family  affair,  to  sit  still  and  see  you  fight  it 
out.' 

The  rest  of  the  Indians  testified  their  approval  by 
silence,  nods,  or  grunts  ;  and  the  promise  of  a  valuable 
present,  in  the  shape  of  laced  hats,  blankets,  calico,  and 


300  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

what  Barlow  called  'other  Furniture,'  sealed  the  happy 
bargain.33  All  seemed  well  content  with  peaceful 
neutrality. 

Not  so  the  Stockbridges,  however.  No  mere  friendship, 
no  mere  interest  allied  them  to  the  whites,  but  the 
apostolic  devotion  and  saintly  teachings  of  Jonathan 
Edwards;  and  they  had  a  word  of  their  own  to  add. 
'Depend  upon  it,'  said  Chief  Solomon  to  the  Commis 
sioners,  'Depend  upon  it,  we  are  true  to  you,  and  mean, 
to  join  you.  Wherever  you  go,  we  will  be  by  your  sides. 
Our  bones  shall  lie  with  yours.' 

So  far,  well, — very  well;  but  the  marplot  had  been  at 
work.  To  men  like  Remember  Baker,  a  bold  partisan 
almost  the  equal  of  Rogers  himself,  scouting  became  a 
passion;  and,  after  making  a  trip  for  Schuyler's  sake,  he 
undertook  one,  soon  after  the  middle  of  August,  for  his 
own.  With  five  men  he  paddled  up  into  Missisquoi  Bay, 
beyond  the  boundary  of  Canada,  '  in  the  silent  watches 
of  the  night,'  hid  his  boat — a  new  one— in  the  bushes, 
and,  when  day  appeared,  set  out  for  a  journey  of  investi 
gation.  Pushing  on  through  swamps  and  woods,  he 
approached  St.  Johns,  reconnoitred  the  fort  and  ship 
ping,  and  then — happily  undiscovered — retraced  his 
path.  With  every  sense  alert,  the  party  crept  on 
through  the  jungle,  for  the  ground  was  low  and  marshy 
round  the  bay.  A  gust  of  wind  rustling  a  maple,  or 
the  scream  of  a  catbird  in  the  alders,  would  halt  them 
now  and  then;  and,  poised  like  a  wildcat  sniffing  the 
air,  they  would  study  the  thicket  on  all  sides.  But  quiet 
returned  in  a  moment;  and  only  the  beams  of  sunlight, 
sifted  through  the  tremulous  foliage  and  weaving  inde 
cipherable  messages  on  the  ground,  appeared  to  be  alive.34 

33  Worth  /"iSooor  ^"2000  (I,iv.,  Journal,  Sept.  2). 

3  *  §  On  the  Baker  episode:  Verreau  (Ivorimier),  Invasion,  p.  246  ;  Schuyler 
to  Ind.  Cotnmrs.,  Aug.  31,  1775  (4  Force,  III.,  493);  letter,  Ti.,  Sept.  14,  1775  (ib., 


Baker's  Last  Fight  301 

Suddenly,  as  the  party  reached  a  point  of  land,  they 
saw  L,orimier  and  five  Caughnawaga  Indians  paddling 
along  under  the  bushes  within  half  musket-range,  towing 
Baker's  boat.  The  owner  hailed  them,  and  demanded 
his  property,  adding,  'The  Indians  and  the  Americans  are 
friends  ' ;  but  the  men  below,  a  hostile  scouting  party, 
made  no  sign  of  giving  up  their  prize.  Now  Baker  knew 
that  strict  orders  had  been  given  not  to  molest  the  Cana 
dians  nor  the  savages  ;  but  it  would  have  been  awkward 
to  lose  his  boat,  the  fellows  were  certainly  thieves, 
and  redskins  were  vermin,  anyhow,  to  a  white  ranger. 
He  threatened  to  shoot.  'If  you  fire,  we  shall,'  was  the 
only  reply.  'Fire!'  he  cried  to  his  party;  and  blood 
spurted  from  two  of  the  Indians. 

His  own  piece  did  not  explode,  however:  the  flint  was 
too  sharp  and  caught  on  the  steel;  and,  as  he  stooped  to 
hammer  it,  his  head  projected  beyond  the  tree  that 
covered  him.  Just  then  L,orimier  and  his  crew  let  fly 
into  the  woods  at  a  venture,  for  they  could  see  nobody. 
A  buckshot  marked  a  little  sign  on  Baker's  forehead  and 
went  on  with  its  leaden  message  to  the  brain.  Both 
parties  fled;  but  later  the  Indians  returned  with  reinforce 
ments,  discovered  the  dead  scout,  and  bore  his  redoubt 
able  head  in  triumph  to  St.  Johns. 

Schuyler  left  Albany  for  the  north  before  the  Council 
broke  up,  and,  on  hearing  of  this  untoward  event,  sent 
word  to  the  other  Commissioners  in  great  distress. 
Without  delay,  the  facts  were  laid  before  the  visitors,  and 
they  were  assured  that  it  was  '  far  from  General  Schuy- 
ler's  intention  to  pluck  one  hair  from  an  Indian's  head, 


709);  Mrs.  Walker,  Journal ;  Macpherson  to  Schuyler,  Aug.  30,  1775  (Schuyler 
Papers);  Ainslie,  Journal,  Introd.;  I.  Allen,  Vt.,  p.  62;  Quebec  Gazette,  Aug. 
31,  1775  ;  Griffin,  affidavit,  Au£.  25,  1775  (4  Force,  III.,  670);  letter  in  Boston 
Gazette,  Sept.  25,  1775.  The  affair  seems  to  have  occurred  on  or  about  Aug.  22 
(Quebec  Gazette).  Baker's  head  went  from  St.  Johns  to  Montreal:  Verreau 
(Berthelot),  Invasion,  p.  228.  For  Baker:  Hall,  Vt.,  p.  456;  I.  Allen,  Vt., 
passim  ;  Chittenden,  Ti.,  p.  23. 


302  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

or  to  spill  one  drop  of  Indian  blood.'  Yet  all  trembled: 
would  not  the  savages  fall  into  a  rage,  and  go  mad  for 
vengeance  ? 35 

Happily,  a  few  lives  at  long  range  signified  little  to 
them  just  then,  and  they  accepted  the  explanations  and 
assurances  in  good  part.  'We  take  the  liberty  now,'  they 
added,  'to  instruct  you  how  to  settle  this  unhappy  affair. 
You  are  first  to  pull  the  hatchet  out  of  the  head  of  the 
deceased,  dig  up  a  pine  tree,  and  then  throw  the  hatchet 
into  the  hole;  this  is  to  be  done  with  a  white  belt.  By  a 
second  belt  you  must  say,  *  We  cover  the  dead  bodies  and 
the  hatchet  in  the  same  grave,  never  to  be  found  again! 
The  second  belt  must  be  large.'  Truly  an  ingenious 
method  was  this,  to  extort  a  fine  without  appearing  to  sell 
the  blood  of  their  friends! 

And  then  came  the  second  great  success  of  the  Council. 
Four  envoys  were  despatched  to  the  Caughnawagas,  beg 
ging  them  not  to  lay  Baker's  conduct  'too  much  to  heart,' 
since  he  had  acted  without  the  orders  or  even  the  know 
ledge  of  the  'Great  Warriours,'  and  also  inviting  them  to 
send  a  few  people  to  the  central  council-fire  without  delay, 
in  order  to  learn  about  the  treaty  just  made  at  Albany. 

It  certainly  looked  as  if  the  Colonials,  aided  by 
Carleton,  had  got  the  better  of  Guy  Johnson.  Yet  Bou 
gainville  had  well  said,  'Of  all  caprice,  Indian  caprice  is 
the  most  capricious.'  Nobody  could  tell  how  the  two 
factions — one  for  wampum  and  the  other  for  scalps — 
would  finally  settle  their  difference.  The  course  of  the 
northern  tribes  had  already  shown  how  little  the  Indians 
could  be  reckoned  upon.  Should  the  Colonial  troops 
invade  Canada,  the  Governor  himself  would  call  upon 
them;  and  a  thousand  or  two  of  those  unrivalled  scouts 
and  fierce  warriors  would  make  a  heavy  counterpoise  in 


3  s    §  Sch.  from  Ti.,    Aug.   31,    i 
before  the  council:  4  Force,  III.,  494, 


1775:   4  Force,    III.,    493.      Baker  episode 
495- 


The  Council  Ends  303 

the  scales  of  fortune.  Meanwhile,  the  ruffled  shirts 
vanished  into  the  forest;  and,  to  the  credit  of  Indian 
self-restraint  or  Colonial  generosity,  fifteen  gallons  of  wine 
and  some  spirits  remained  in  Mr.  Douw's  hands.36 


36  §  Parkman,  Montcalm,  I.,  p.  430.    Journ.  Cong.,  Jan.  12,  1776. 


XI 
A  CAMPAIGN  OF  GOOD  INTENTIONS 

THE  general  must  look  even  more  closely  to  the 
rear  than  to  the  front,  says  Hamley,  and  so  Schuy- 
ler  had  found;  but,  after  all,  it  was  not  enough  to  gather 
an  army  and  establish  safe  communications:  the  enemy 
and  the  advance  needed  to  be  kept  in  mind. 

Carleton  had  firmly  shut  the  door  of  his  province, 
but  interesting  sounds  from  beyond  leaked  through  its 
crevices.  Schuyler  had  barely  reached  Lake  Champlain 
when  a  Canadian,  lately  at  St.  Johns,  assured  him  that 
4  unless  compelled  by  force '  the  people  of  the  north 
would  not  take  sides  for  the  King.  A  few  days  more, 
and  a  letter  from  Trumbull  informed  him  that  Captain 
John  Bigelow  of  Hartford  had  been  sent  into  Canada  by  the 
Assembly  to  escort  the  ladies  of  Skenesborough  to  their 
friends,  and  on  his  return  had  reported  it  as  '  certain '  that 
the  royalists  of  that  country  could  not  count  upon  a 
single  one  of  the  habitants;  on  the  other  hand,  'they  were 
praying,  almost  to  a  man,  for  our  people  to  come  into  their 
country.'  'Accounts  from  all  quarters  agree  that  the 
Canadians  are  friendly  to  us,'  wrote  the  General  himself 
to  Hancock  at  about  the  same  time.1 

Five  or  six  days  after  this,  Captain  Halsey  of  the  sloop 
sent  word  that  three  Frenchmen  and  as  many  Indians, 
who  met  him  in  two  canoes  toward  the  north  end  of  the 


i   §  Sch.  to  Wash.,  July  18,   1775:    4    Force,  II.,   1685.      Trumbull  to  Sch., 
July  17,  1775.  ib.,  1676.     Sch.  to  Hancock,  July  21,  1775:  ib.,  1702. 

304 


The  Canadians  Friendly  305 

lake,  predicted  that  'the  Canadians  would  be  neuter;  per 
haps  act  in  our  favour.'  On  the  first  of  August  an 
Indian  chief,  arriving  from  Canada  in  Washington's 
camp,  described  the  habitants  as  well  disposed  to  the 
Colonies;  and  no  doubt  Schuyler  had  the  benefit  of  this 
information.  That  very  evening,  two  persons  from  St. 
Johns  sailed  up  the  lake  above  Crown  Point  with  Samuel 
Mott.  When  questioned  under  oath  before  the  General, 
they  declared  that  'about  three  thousand  Canadians  rose 
to  defend  themselves  in  a  body,  and  disarmed  one  of  their 
countrymen  who  had  a  commission  from  Governour  Carle- 
ton'  to  enroll  them  in  the  army.  Later  in  the  month,  a 
French  gentleman  appeared  at  the  Ticonderoga  camp,  and 
put  the  boys  in  fine  spirits  by  insisting  that  'the  greatest 
part  of  the  Canadians  would  join'  them,  and  promising 
that  he  himself  would  kill  five  fat  oxen  in  their  honor.3 

Over  against  all  this  and  more,  only  a  single  opinion 
could  be  set.  Brook  Watson,  a  prominent  London 
merchant  on  his  way  to  the  Lord  Mayor's  chair,  passed 
up  from  Philadelphia  to  Canada  on  a  business  trip.  'A 
sincere  friend  to  America  and  its  rights  I  truly  am,'  he 
proclaimed;  and  not  a  few,  influenced  by  his  ponderous 
egotism,  interpreted  this  Delphic  oracle  in  the  sense  he 
intended  them  to  give  it.  On  the  fourth  of  July,  Watson 
indited  an  epistle  from  Lake  Champlain  near  St.  Johns  to 
the  New  York  Congress.  '  Should  the  colonies  send  their 
troops  into  that  Province,'  he  wrote,  'or  should  they  go 
without  orders,  the  Canadians  and  the  Indians,  their 
friends,  will  naturally  fall  upon  your  back  settlements  with 
fire  and  sword.  Then  the  King's  Troops  on  one  side,  and 
the  Canadians  and  Indians  on  the  other,  what  are  the 
Colonists  to  expect  but  slaughter?'  'For  God's  sake,' 


2  §  sch.  (Halsey)  to  Hancock,  July  27,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  i734.  Chief:  4 
SP^S.eJ  IL1-'  3oi;  Wash.  to  Hancock,  Aug.  4,  1775:  Writings  (Ford),  III.,  p.  58 
Mott  to  Trumbull,  Aug.  3  :  4  Force,  III.,  18.  Affid.,  Aug.  2  :  Cont.  Cong.  Papers 
I53.  PP-  93.  98.  I/etter,  Aug.  25,  1775:  Boston  Gazette,  Sept.  25,  1775,  p.  a. 


306  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

exclaimed  the  sincere  friend,  'exert  every  faculty  to  pre 
vent  so  great  an  evil';  and  the  opinion  of  a  weighty 
personage  like  him  seemed  worthy  of  attention.8 


FROM    FADEN'S   AMERICAN   ATLAS  OF   1776 

But  the  proof  of  a  fiend  has  always  been  a  certain  odor 
of  brimstone  about  the  time  of  his  disappearance,  and  by 
this  test  Watson's  oracle  had  its  inspiration  from  below. 

3  §  Watson  to  N.  Y.  Cong.,  July  4,  '775  '•  4  Force,  II.,  1571-    Egotism  :  based 
on  a  number  of  of  Watson's  letters. 


Brown's  Scouting  Trip  307 

On  arriving  at  Crown  Point  with  two  Canadian  gentle 
men,  he  presented  a  paper  from  the  Continental  Congress, 
which  directed  the  commanding  officer  to  give  him  a  pas 
sage  across  the  lake.  Accordingly,  Lieutenant  Ira  Allen, 
Ethan's  youngest  brother,  with  some  of  the  Green  Moun 
tain  Boys,  undertook  to  conduct  the  party.  As  they  ap 
proached  Canada,  the  British  magnate  probably  felt  it 
safe  to  loosen  the  other  side  of  his  tongue.  At  all  events, 
Allen  came  to  a  certain  conclusion  about  him;  and,  when 
Watson  tried  to  prevent  the  men  from  priming  and  mak 
ing  ready  for  Indians,  as  they  approached  the  doubtful 
shore,  he  refused  to  yield.  The  three  passengers  drew 
pistols;  but  that  was  a  vain  move.  Allen's  genial,  hand 
some  face  grew  threatening;  and  the  consequence  was  that 
Watson  soon  landed  in  a  swamp  three  miles  from  any 
house.  His  mask  was  now  off,— at  least  an  edge  of  it; 
and  the  fact  that  his  companions  were  Canadian  nobles 
did  not  help  him.  How  far  this  incident  made  its  way 
no  one  recorded,  but  apparently  it  became  well  known. 
'  That  worthy  and  steady  friend  to  the  Colonies,  Brook 
Watson,  whose  zeal  is  only  to  be  equalled  by  his  sincer 
ity,'— was  Montgomery's  description  of  him  later.  Testi 
mony  like  his  could  weigh  little  against  the  pile  that  flatly 
contradicted  it.4 

But  Schuyler  wished  the  fullest  possible  information, 
and  sent  John  Brown  on  a  scouting  expedition  toward 
Caughnawaga. 

It  was  a  daring  trip.  Reaving  Crown  Point  early  Mon 
day  morning,  July  the  twenty-fourth,  with  a  Canadian 
and  three  Provincials,  Brown  found  a  good  breeze  astern, 
and  soon  made  the  north  end  of  the  lake.  Then  began 
his  troubles.  Landing  on  the  west  side,  the  party  had  to 
march  for  three  days  in  a  swamp,  lodging  at  night  as 

*  §1  Allen  yt.,  pp.  60,  61.  Allen:  Hall,  Vt.,  p.  454;  engraved  portrait. 
Montg.  to  »ch.,  Nov.  13,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  1602. 


308  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

they  could.  'I  am  not  Able  to  inform  any  mortal  What 
We  underwent  with  firtugue  and  want  of  water  in  this 
journey  Some  Days  no  Water  at  all  and  other  Days 
none  but  mud,'  wrote  one  of  the  number.  Much  of  the 
travelling  had  to  be  done  by  night.  Now  and  then  it 
rained  in  sheets,  till  they  were  as  wet  as  water  could 
make  them.  One  whole  day  they  passed  in  a  hen-roost. 
The  swamp,  vile  as  it  was,  became  a  precious  refuge  some 
times;  and  where  the  swamp  ended,  bushes  had  to 
answer.  Once  about  fifty  men  surrounded  the  house 
where  they  were;  but  they  escaped  by  a  back  window. 
At  another  time,  a  boy  came  upon  them  in  the  bushes, 
gave  an  alarm,  and  'Set  the  whole  Nabourhood  in  a 
Russule,'  upon  which  Brown  'went  out  Boldly  and  Spake 
with  the  People,'  giving  his  comrades  time  to  slip  away. 
For  some  forty-eight  hours,  on  his  return,  the  enemy 
pursued  him;  but  finally,  after  studying  the  temper  of 
the  country  four  days,  he  reached  Crown  Point  in  safety 
and  made  his  report.5 

Nothing  could  have  been  more  positive  than  his  testi 
mony,  and  its  earnestness  deepened  into  pathos.  'It  is 
impossible  for  me  to  describe  the  kindness  received  from 
the  French,'  he  said,  'as  also  their  distressed  situation, 
being  threatened  with  destruction  from  the  King's 
Troops,  by  fire  and  sword,  because  they  refuse  to  take 
up  arms  against  the  Colonies.  They  wish  and  long  for 
nothing  more  than  to  see  us  with  an  army  penetrate 
their  country.  They  engage  to  supply  us  with  every 
thing  in  their  power.'  A  man  trusted  by  Samuel  Adams 
and  Joseph  Warren  could  claim  the  confidence  of  Schuy- 
ler:  if  not,  why  was  he  sent?  And,  indeed,  the  mere 
fact  that  he  returned,  proved  the  good-will  of  the  Cana- 

5  Sch.  to  Hancock,  July  26,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  1720.  Brown  to  Trura- 
bull  Aug  14,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  135.  Wells,  Journal:  Conn.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll., 
VII.,  p.  241.  Ti.  letter,  Aug.  23,  in  Boston  Gazette,  Sept.  18,  1775,  p.  2. 


Carleton's  Alarming  Preparations        309 

dians,  '  without  whose  protection  I  must  have  fallen  into 
the  hands  of  the  enemy,'  he  confessed.8 

Not  a  few  reports  told  also  of  the  danger  gathering  like 
a  thunder-cloud  in  the  north. 

Some,  though  alarming,  were  vague.  'Burgoyne,  we 
learn,  has  gone  to  Quebec,'  wrote  the  New  York  Com 
mittee  of  Safety;  'If  Ticonderoga  is  taken  from  us,  fear, 
which  made  the  savages  our  friends,  will  render  them  our 
enemies.  Ravages  on  our  own  frontiers  will  foster  dis 
sensions  among  us  ruinous  to  the  cause.  Be  prudent,  be 
expeditious.'  A  rumor  went  abroad  in  Canada  that  four 
thousand  regulars  '  were  coming  into  the  river '  St.  Law 
rence,  and  it  spread  as  far  as  Ticonderoga.  So  did  a  story 
that  Carleton  himself  had  announced  the  approach  of 
reinforcements,  and  Ethan  Allen  felt  satisfied  that  there 
was  truth  in  the  news.  '  Witness,'  he  said,  *  the  sailing  of 
the  transports  and  two  men-of-war  from  Boston,  as  is 
supposed  for  Quebeck.  ...  I  fear  the  Colonies  have  been 
too  slow.'  July  the  eighth,  a  gentleman  in  London  sent 
word  to  a  friend  of  his  in  Philadelphia  that  a  thousand 
Highlanders  had  gone  to  the  aid  of  Carleton,  and  nineteen 
hundred  more  were  enlisting  for  him,  adding,  by  way  of 
encouragement,  '  if  you  submit,  sixty  of  you  are  to  be 
hanged  in  Philadelphia,  and  the  same  number  in  New 
York.'7 

One  of  the  stories  met  an  early  death :  'No  troops  have 
been  detached  from  Boston,'  said  Washington.  But,  on 
the  other  hand,  positive  reports  of  Carleton's  hostile  prep 
arations  gathered  like  a  snowball.8 

On   the   twenty-first  of  July,   Schuyler  sent  Hancock 


6  §  See  Brown  and  Ti.  letter:  Note  5. 

7  §  N.  Y.  Com.  Safety  to  N.  Y.   Deleg.,  July  ic,    1775:  4  Force,   II.,    1788. 
Rumor:  S.  Mott  to  Trumbull,  Aug.  3,  1775  (4  Force,  III.,  18).    Carleton-  J.  I^iv. 
to  Sch.,  Aug.  — ,   1775  (Emmet  Coll.).     Allen  to  Trumbull,  Aug.   3,   1775  :    4 
Force,   III.,  17       lyondon   letter:  4  Force,    II.,   1607;  Boston  Gazette,    Oct.  9, 
1775,  P-  2. 

s  Wash,  to  Sch.,  Aug.  15,  1775 :  Writings  (Ford),  III.,  p.  84. 


3io  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

word,  not  only  that  fortifications  had  already  been  rising 
for  at  least  a  fortnight  at  St.  Johns,  but  that  lumber 
for  vessels  was  preparing.  Within  a  week  he  received 
news  that  '  a  picket  fort,  surrounded  with  a  ditch '  had 
become  a  reality  there,  and  regulars  had  come  south 
almost  as  far  as  Crown  Point.  Mott's  travelling  com 
panions  told  how  the  soldiers  had  '  hewed  and  framed  two 
very  large  and  strong  vessels  at  Chambly,  to  carry  about 
sixteen  carriage-guns  each,  which,  before  they  put 
together,  they  had  carted  up  with  one  -hundred  teams 
to  St.  Johns.'  The  intention  of  the  British  was  to 
destroy,  it  was  stated,  '  all  the  Settlements  this  Side  of  the 
Line,'  though  as  yet  there  were  less  than  five  hundred  at 
St.  Johns.  About  a  week  later,  Remember  Baker  reported 
that  he  had  visited  this  point  a  few  days  before,  and  found 
two  schooners  '  or  Other  war  Like  Vessels  a  Building 
there,'  a  fort  erected,  and  cannon  in  place.  'I  counted 
five  Battoes  in  the  water  &  four  on  the  Land,'  he  added: 
evidently  the  substantial  earnest  of  a  fleet.  Brown 
contributed  an  account  of  two  bateaux  mounting  nine 
guns  each,  and  said  that  *  two  large  row-gallies,  of  sixty  or 
eighty  feet  length  '—plainly  Baker's  warlike  vessels— were 
nearly  completed,  and  would  have  twelve  guns  apiece. 
'Now,  Sir,'  exhorted  Brown,  'Now,  Sir,  is  the  time  to 
carry  Canada.  It  may  be  done  with  great  ease  and  little 
cost ' ;  and  this  he  could  urge  a  few  days  later  with  still 
greater  emphasis,  for  letters  from  the  north  reached 
him,  promising  the  co-operation  of  four  thousand  men,  if 
the  American  army  would  only  '  come  on.'  '  We  have 
all  the  encouragement  from  the  Canadians  and  Indians, 
that  we  can  desire,'  epitomized  an  officer;  adding,  '  Our 
men  are  very  fierce  to  push  forward.'9 

9  §  Sch.  to  Hancock,  July  21,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  1702.  Id.  to  Id.,  July  27, 
17715  •  ib  1734  Mott  :  Note  7.  Affidavits,  Aug.  2.  Cont.  Cong.  Papers,  153, 
PP  93,  98.  Baker  to  Sch.,  Aug.  10,  1775:  Dreer  Coll.  On  Aug.  3,  Baker  had 


312   Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

Schuyler  for  his  own  part  declared  for  action  over  and 
over  again.  'This,  then,  is  the  time  to  gain  intelligence 
with  certainty  by  going  to  St.  John's  with  a  respectable 
body,'  and  at  the  same  time  'prevent  the  regular  Troops 
from  gaining  a  naval  strength,'  he  announced  on  the 
third  day  after  climbing  Ticonderoga  point.  July  the 
twenty-sixth  he  promised,  'the  moment  I  have  sufficient 
craft  and  carriages  for  a  few  guns,  I  will  pick  my  men 
and  give  them  the  best  of  the  arms,  and  proceed  to  St. 
John's';  'the  necessity  of  such  an  operation  becomes 
daily  more  evident  to  me.'  The  next  day,  no  manoeuvre 
appeared  'more  necessary  than  an  immediate  movement 
to  St.  John's.'  Already  his  sailing  craft  would  carry  five 
hundred  and  fifty  men  at  a  single  trip,  and  a  good  force 
of  carpenters  was  now  making  the  chips  fly  fast.  By 
August  third,  Schuyler's  fears  of  being  detained  through 
a  lack  of  provisions  had  subsided.  Yet  that  month  grew 
old  and  grew  older,  without  discovering  a  sign  of  action. 
Brown's  thrilling  report  seemed  to  have  no  effect. 
August  seventeenth,  Schuyler  left  the  army  for  a  visit  at 
Saratoga,  and  then  went  on  to  Albany,  without  even  giv 
ing  the  order  to  make  ready  for  an  advance.10 

No  doubt  the  lack  of  complete  supplies  for  offensive 
operations  had  much  to  do  with  this  inaction;  but,  even 
if  the  General  dared  not  attack  the  regulars,  something 
quite  important  lay  within  his  reach.  On  the  York  side 
of  Lake  Champlain,  just  thirty  miles  from  St.  Johns, 
Iron  Point  (Pointe  au  Per],  a  broad  cape  of  firm,  dry 
meadow-ground  fanned  with  health-giving  breezes, 
pushed  out  into  the  sparkling  waves.  Only  the  year 
before,  'a  very  strong  stone  and  lime  wall  house,  with 


reported  to  Sch.  that  the  Indians  had  told  him  of  these  vessels  (Sch. 
Papers).  Brown:  Note  5.  Boston  Gazette,  Sept.  18,  1775,  p.  2  (letter  from  Ti., 
Aug.  23). 

10  §  Sch.  to  Hancock,  July  21,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  1702.  Id.  to  Id..  July 
26:ib.,  1729.  Id.  to  Id.,  July  27:  ib.,  1734.  Id.  to  Trumbull,  Aug.  3,  1775 14  Force, 
III.,  17.  Id.  to  Wash.,  Aug.  27 :  ib.,  442. 


Opportunities  Neglected  313 

strong  ball-proof  brick,  sentry  boxes  at  each  corner,' 
had  been  erected  there.  Forty-four  port-holes  waited  for 
cannon;  and  some  ordnance,  with  a  little  digging  of  dirt, 
could  make  the  White  House  really  formidable.11 

Even  more  favorably  situated,  a  natural  plug  in  the 
Richelieu  River  some  fifteen  miles  above  St.  Johns,  Nut 
Island  (He  aux  Noix]  had  invited  the  Provincials  from 
the  very  day  Ticonderoga  fell.  'The  bridle  of  Canada,' 
General  Haldimand  called  it.  Here  'a  very  strong 
Fortification  could  be  raised  at  a  small  Kxpence,'  wrote 
Captain  Marr,  Carleton's  engineer;  and  'it  would  be  very 
possible  to  prevent  any  Vessel  or  Number  of  Vessels  to 
pass  this  Post.'  Indeed,  the  strength  of  the  '  bridle  '  had 
been  proved.  Still  visible  and  still  valuable  were  the 
intrenchments  thrown  up  there  by  the  French  during  the 
recent  war,  as  well  as  the  pickets  driven  into  the  river- 
bottom  from  the  island  to  the  shores ;  and,  according  to 
Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton,  they  had  stopped  Amherst 
and  all  his  army.  Yet  this  point  of  vantage  had  not  been 
appropriated  by  Carleton;  and  a  boom  here,  defended  with 
a  few  cannon,  would  certainly  check  his  light  vessels.12 

Now  if  Schuyler  could  safely  maintain  a  post  at  Crown 
Point,  he  could  do  the  same  farther  north;  while,  if  he 
could  not,  that  place  ought  to  have  been  abandoned. 
In  both  cases  the  serious  danger  was  the  same:  a  hostile 
fleet.  Occupying  Iron  Point  through  July  and  August, 
he  could  have  encouraged  the  friendly  Canadians  and 
watched  incessantly  for  chances  to  damage  the  British; 
while,  planted  at  Nut  Island,  he  would  have  had  the 
bit  fairly  in  his  adversary's  teeth,  unless  Marr  and  Haldi 
mand  were  mistaken. 

u  §  Gitleland  to  Cont.  Cong.,  May  2g,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  731.  Carroll, 
Journal,  p.  84.  Robbins,  Journal,  Apr.  27. 

12  §  Haldimand's  Memorandum  Book:  Can.  Arch.,  B,  22Q,  p.  38.  REMARK 
XVI.  Marr,  Remarks  on  Quebec:  Can.  Arch.,  M,  384.  Parkman,  Montcalm, 
II.,  p.  249  ;  Carroll,  Journal,  pp.  85,  86  ;  Robbins,  Journal,  Apr.  27.  Valuable: 
Haldimand  to  Germain,  Oct.  is,  1778  (Can.  Arch.,  B,  54,  p.  30).  Not  occupied- 
Baker  to  Sch.,  Aug.  10,  1775  (Dreer  Coll.). 


$ 


The  Army  Grows  Restive  315 

In  truth,  however,  Schuyler  had  the  means  of  doing 
even  more.  Carleton's  military  strength  might  soon  be 
formidable,  but  thus  far  he  seemed  to  have  only  five  or  six 
hundred  regulars  near  St.  Johns.  At  the  lowest  calcula 
tion,  Schuyler  far  out-numbered  his  enemy.  No  doubt 
he  wanted  more  gunpowder,  but  so  did  Washington.  The 
cartridge-paper  ordered  at  New  York  had  not  arrived,  but 
something  to  answer  the  purpose  for  a  few  days  could 
surely  be  found  at  Albany.  If  he  was  not  fully  in  trim  for 
battle,  neither  were  the  British.  As  Napoleon  once  re 
marked,  war  cannot  be  made  without  accepting  risks. 
Yet  Carleton  was  permitted  to  keep  at  work  upon  the 
Canadians,  build  his  fort,  and  prepare  to  sweep  the  lakes; 
and  Schuyler  rode  off  to  Saratoga.  'It  seems  that  some 
evil  planet  has  reigned  in  this  quarter,'  observed  John 
Brown  bitterly.  'Are  we  not  to  hear  of  an  Expedition 
into  Canada  ?  '  wrote  James  Warren  to  Samuel  Adams  in 
despair.13 

In  a  letter  'entreating'  Schuyler  to  rejoin  the  army  as 
soon  as  he  possibly  could,  Montgomery  went  so  far  as  to 
say:  'It  will  give  the  Men  great  confidence  in  your  spirit 
and  activity — how  necessary  this  confidence  is  to  a  Gen 
eral  I  need  not  tell  you  ...  be  Assured,  I  have  your 
honour  &  reputation  highly  at  heart. '  Such  words  from 
a  loyal  subordinate  and  true  friend,  familiar  with  the 
strictest  rules  of  military  etiquette,  and  extremely  polite 
as  well  as  warm-hearted  in  his  personal  conduct,  signified 
that  Schuyler  had  been  voted  lacking  in  spirit  and  activity 
by  the  army.14 

What  did  it  mean?  Doubtless  he  felt  worried  and  tired; 
but  that  did  not  explain  his  course.  Had  he  really 


i3  §Sch.  to  Wash.,  Aug.  27,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  442  (350-400  at  St.  J.;  150 
200  at  Chambly ;  about  50  at  Montreal,  besides  Johnson's  Tories  and  Indians  ; 
1700  Amers.  ready  to  move.)  About  2400  Amers. :  Ti.  letter,  Aug.  23,  in  Boston 
Gazette,  Sept.  18,1775,  p.  2.  Brown:  Note  5.  Warren,  Aug.  4,  i77S:  S.  Adams 
Papers.  Troops:  RKMARK  XVII. 

I*  Montg.  to  Sch.,  Aug.  25,  1775:  Sch.  Papers. 


316  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

given  up  the  idea  of  entering  Canada?  'The  enemy's 
naval  strength  will  be  such  as,  in  all  probability,  will  pre 
vent  our  getting  down  the  Sorrel  River  to  St.  John's,'  he 
said  on  the  third  day  of  August;  and  few  men  have  cared 
to  move  against  'all  probability.'  Indeed  if  he  only 
waited,  it  was  bound  to  be  a  certainty,  and — he  waited. 
That,  however,  represented  only  one  phase  of  his  complex 
thinking.  Schuyler  had  not  finally  given  up  the  idea  of 
invading  Canada;  neither  had  spirit  and  activity  failed 
him.  But,  as  he  clearly  revealed  in  his  letters,  he  felt 
doubts  about  the  '  propriety '  of  advancing,  and  was 
rather  expecting  his  '  superiours '  to  countermand  their 
order.15 

His  superiors!  Washington  only  urged  him  not  to  let 
his  ardor  be  damped.  As  for  Congress,  it  had  placed 
but  two  conditions  on  the  order  to  advance:  the  move 
must  be  'practicable'  and  'not  disagreeable  to  the  Cana 
dians  ' ;  the  second  condition  had  been  fulfilled  by  circum 
stances,  and  the  first  sufficiently  well  by  Congress  and  the 
General.  Indeed,  on  another  part  of  the  orders  no  con 
dition  whatever  had  been  placed:  Schuyler  was  to  'exert 
his  utmost  power  to  destroy  or  take  all  Vessels,  boats  or 
floating  Batteries  preparing  by  said  governor  [Carleton] 
or  by  his  order  on  or  near  the  waters  of  the  Lakes.'  On 
the  second  of  August,  the  General  still  considered  himself 
'positively  ordered '  to  move  north;  and,  as  the  days 
passed,  no  directions  to  the  contrary  arrived.  Under 
such  circumstances,  doubts  did  not  become  an  officer.16 

But  Schuyler  had  been  a  politician  much  longer  than  a 
major-general,  and  both  nature  and  training  had  unfitted 

is  §  Sch.  to  Trumbull,  Aug.  3,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  17.  Id.  to  Cong.,  Aug 
2,  1775:  Cont.  Cong.  Papers,  153,  p.  89.  Id.  to  Wash.,  Aug.  27,  1775:  4  Force, 
III.,  442  (' unless  prevented  by  my  superiours ').  Id.  to  Id.,  Aug.  6,  1775: 
lyossing,  Sch.,  I.,  p.  3  o. 

is  S  Wash,  to  Sch.,  Aug.  20,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  213.  Secret  Journ.  of 
Cong-  June  27,  1775.  Sent,  of  Canadians:  Sch.  to  N.  Y.  Cong.,  Aug.  20,, 
1775  (4  Force,  III.,  212).  Id.  to  Cong.,  Aug.  2:  Cont.  Cong.  Papers,  153,  p.89. 


Schuyler's  Thoughts  317 

him  to  march  straight  on,  deaf  as  a  hatchet,  through  a 
jungle  of  entangling  perplexities.  His  mind  lost  its  way 
in  the  mazy  question  of  propriety  and  the  still  mazier 
question  how  Congress  might,  could,  should,  and  would 
handle  the  problems  it  involved.  The  gunpowder,  gun- 
carriages,  and  intrenching  tools  that  he  lacked  came 
to  be  mainly  psychological.  At  the  same  time,  being  a 
man  of  moods,  beset  on  one  side  by  people  eager  to 
advance,  he  became  occasionally  impatient  for  action. 
At  such  times  he  wrote  the  pressing  letters  to  New  York; 
but  then,  his  resolution  'sicklied  o'er'  with  doubt,  he 
sagged  away,  and  very  possibly,  without  realizing  it 
himself,  found  the  lack  of  supplies  and  the  bare 
possibility  of  being  'prevented'  by  his  superiors  a  welcome 
excuse  for  deferring  a  momentous  and  hazardous  move. 

But  another  star  mounted  the  heavens,  as  Schuyler 
rode  down  the  firmament  to  Saratoga.  Scarcely  did 
Montgomery  find  himself  in  command  at  the  lake,  before 
he  declared  that,  in  view  of  the  British  preparations,  the 
Americans  must  hasten  to  'crush  their  naval  armament' 
before  it  could  'get  abroad';  and,  without  instructions  to 
do  so,  he  gave  orders,  under  the  pressure  of  necessity,  to 
sail  for  St.  Johns  on  the  second  of  September.  The  fact 
that  he  did  this  proved  that  Schuyler  could  have  done  as 
much.  The  fact  that  he  found  himself  compelled  by  the 
situation  to  act  thus,  without  authorization  and  reluc 
tantly,  was  evidence  that  Schuyler  should  have  moved. 
And  the  fact  that  Schuyler,  so  sensitive  about  his  military 
prerogatives,  concurred  almost  eagerly  in  this  decision, 
suggested  at  least  that  he  realized  these  points,  and  felt 
relieved  to  have  the  tangle  of  doubts  cut  through,  at  one 
stroke,  by  a  soldierly  will.17 


I?  §  Montg.  to  N.  H.  Com.  Safety,  Aug.  19,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  177.  Letter 
from  Ti.,  Aug.  25,  1775:  Boston  Gazette,  Sept.  25,  1775,  p.  2.  Sch.toWash.. 
Aug.  27,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  442.  Sch.'s  sensitiveness:  note  the  quarrel  with 
Wooster  (Chapter  XXVII.) .  REMARK  XVIII. 


4  1 * 

x 


Montgomery  Decides  to  Advance        319 

Circumstances,  apparently  encouraged  by  Mont 
gomery's  resolution,  immediately  proved  that  still  more 
could  be  done.  August  the  eighteenth,  he  sent  Brown  to 
the  north  on  another  tour  of  investigation,  but,  as  it 
chanced,  did  not  have  to  wait  for  his  report.  Sergeant 
Griffin,  one  of  Easton's  men,  had  for  some  time  been 
scouting  on  the  lake.  Sunday,  the  twentieth  of  August, 
he  fell  in  with  Captain  Baker;  and  the  next  morning  at 
daylight  Baker,  then  on  his  fatal  journey  into  Canada, 
set  him  ashore,  with  'a  lyittle  St.  Francis  Indian,'  on  the 
west  side  of  the  Richelieu  River  close  to  Lake  Champlain. 
About  six  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  he  reached  the  edge 
of  the  woods  five  hundred  paces  or  so  from  Fort  St. 
John,  and  all  night  he  lay  some  ten  rods  from  the  British 
sentry.  One  of  the  vessels,  the  length  of  which  appeared 
to  be  fifty  or  sixty  feet,  'was  planked  up  to  the  wale, 
and  pitched  black,'  he  found;  while  the  other,  mostly 
hidden  by  the  first,  'appeared  to  him  to  be  planked.'  At 
daybreak  he  crept  away,  and  on  August  the  twenty -fifth 
he  certified  to  these  facts  under  oath  before  General 
Montgomery  at  Ticoiideroga.  Brown,  for  his  part,  sent 
an  opinion  the  moment  he  met  Griffin,  as  he  chanced  to 
do:  the  army  must  proceed  'or  we  lose  all,  i.  e.  the  com 
mand  of  the  lake,  which  is  tantamount.'  18 

Despatching  this  report  at  once  to  Schuyler,  Mont 
gomery  decided  not  to  wait  for  a  reply,  and  advanced  the 
date  of  departure  from  the  second  of  September  to  the 
twenty-eighth  of  August.  At  once  the  tedious  camp, 
now  full  of  malaria  in  spite  of  the  breezes,  woke  up.  A 
feverish  bustle  took  the  place  of  languor.  Even  the  yellow 
invalids,  quaking  with  ague,  tried  to  hurry.  Cooking 
and  mending,  packing  and  talking  went  on  at  the  double- 


is  §  Brown:  Montg.'s  orders  (MS.  in  possession  of  Miss  Sarah  W.  Adam). 
Griffin  (copy  sent  by  Sch.):  Cont.  Cong.  Papers,  153,  I.,  p.  133.  Brown  to 
Montg.,  Aug.  23,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  468. 


320  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

quick.  Officers  wrote  home:  '  We  shall  have  a  smart 
brush  with  the  Regulars ' ;  '  You  will  soon  hear  of  very 
bloody  scenes  ' ;  '  We  expect  warm  work  ' ;  '  I  hope  in  five 
days  to  be  one  of  the  Possessors  of  Montreal ' ;  '  Pray  to 
arms,  to  arms,  my  friend!'  'Our  all  is  at  stake!  I  had 
rather  never  again  return  from  the  field  than  live  and  die 
a  slave!'  And,  on  Monday  evening,  the  twenty-eighth 
of  August,  the  greater  part  of  Waterbury's  regiment, 
with  Mott's  artillery  and  Ritzema' s  four  companies 
of  the  First  Yorkers,  embarked  with  noisy  but  sincere 
enthusiasm.19 

Wednesday  morning,  a  pleasant-looking  individual 
might  have  been  seen  at  Crown  Point,  pacing  up  and 
down  the  shore  of  the  lake.  Rather  slender  he  was 
called;  but  he  stood  above  the  medium  height,  bore  him 
self  right  vigorously,  and — from  the  spurs  on  his  top-boots 
to  the  cockade  in  his  gold-laced  hat— looked  every  inch 
the  soldier.  The  sword  at  his  thigh,  with  its  beautifully 
wrought  mounting  of  solid  silver  and  its  ivory  handle 

19  §  Officers' letters,  Aug.  25,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  433i  434!  Macpherson  to 
Sch  Aug.  30,  177=5-  Sch.  Papers  ;  Letter,  Aug.  31 :  Boston  Gazette,  Sept.  25,  1775 
(used  to  show  the  spirit  of  the  army);  Ritzema,  Journal. 

The  authorities  for  the  events  described  in  the  rest  of  the  chap.,  to  which 
(except  in  special  cases)  it  does  not  seem  feasible  to  give  detailed  references 
(see  Preface)  are-  Jos.  Smith,  Journal;  Ritzema,  Journal;  'Montgomery's 
Orderly  Book  (Pension  Office);  Barlow,  Orderly  Book  and  Journal  ;  Water 
bury's'  Orderly  Book;  Wells' s  and  Trumbull's  Journals  (Conn  Hist.  Soc.  Coll., 
VII);  Sch.'s  letters  (July  31,  4  Force,  II.,  1760;  Aug.  27,  4  Force,  III.,  442; 
Aug  31,  ib.,  467  ;  Sept.  8,  ib.,  669  ;  Sept.  18,  ib.,  727  ;  Sept.  19,  ib.,  738  ;  Sept.  20, 
ib.,  751);  Montg.  to  Sch.,  Aug.  3°,  i775  (Sch.  Papers);  Id.  to  Mrs.  M 
Sept  Y  12,  T775  (L.  L.  Hfunt],  Biog.  Notes,  p.  n)  ;  Brown  to  Sch.,  Sept.  8 
(Sch.  Papers);  k  Allen  to  Sch.,  Sept.  8,  I775  (ib.);  Accountof  Man- 
reuvresu  Force.,111.,  741)  ;  Officer's  letter,  Aug.  25  (ib.,  434) ;  lettei,  Sept.  8  (ib 
672);  letter  Sept.  14  (ib.,  709);  letter,  Sept.  16  (ib.,  723);  Bedel,  Sept  23  (ib.,  779); 
letter  from  Offbrd,  N.  H.,  Sept.  12,  in  Boston  Gazette,  Oct.  2  ;  Orders  Sept  13 
(4  Force,  III.,  742);  Council,  Sept.  7  (ib.,  672);  [J.  Liv.l  to  Sch..  Sept.  8  (ib., 
740);  Id.  to  Id.,  Aug.  -  (Emmet  Coll.);  H.  B.  Liv.  to  —  — ,  Oct.  6  (Mag.  Am. 
Hist.,  T889,  p.  256);  Id.  to  cousin,  Jan.  25,  TSTO  (Bancroft  Coll.);  LIV.,  Journal; 
letter  in  Constit.  Gazette,  Sept.  14,  1775  ;  Leffingwell's  report  in  Boston  Gazette, 
Sept.  25  ;  Conn.  Gazette,  Sept.  22,  20,  and  Oct.  6,  1775  ;  Stevens's  Journal  (N  H. 
Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  V.,  p  199) ;  Bouchette,  Descr.  Topog.,  p.  181 ;  Quebec  Gazette, 
Sept  T4  •  Cramah6  to  Dartmouth,  Sept.  2T  (Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Colon.  Corres., 
Quebec,  IT,  p.  397)  ;  Carleton  to  Dartmouth.  Sept.  21,  1775  (ib.,  p.  421);  Lossing, 
Sch..  I.  po  396-410;  Bonney,  Gleanings,  I.,  p.  44  ;  Verreau  (Sangumet, 
Berthelot.  Lorimier  and  letters).  Invasion,  passim;  Oriet  in  Tryons  letter  to 
Dartmouth,  Nov.  IT  (Pub.  Rec.  Off,  Am.  and  W.  Ind.,  Vol.  185,  p.  677);  Amslie, 
Journal  Jntrod  )•  with  other  documents  mentioned  in  later  notes,  local  topo 
graphical  information,  etc.  The  dates  not  specified  above  are  m  1775. 


Delayed  by  the  Weather  321 

fluted  in  spirals — a  real  gem  of  military  art — proved  his 
good  taste.  Attractive,  mobile  features,  and  eloquent 
brown  eyes  full  of  purpose  but  also  full  of  sentiment,  laid 
claim  to  both  respect  and  liking.  When  he  took  off  his 
hat  now  and  then  to  enjoy  the  breeze,  one  could  see  that 
his  dark-brown  hair  was  not  only  touched  with  grey  but 
a  little  more  than  thin.  Apparently  he  was  an  agreeable 
yet  resolute  person,  with  something  very  important  in 
hand;  and  no  deceit  lay  in  these 
appearances,  for  the  gentleman 
was  Brigadier-General  Richard 
Montgomery.20 

Just  now  a  restless  mood  had 
possession  of  him.  Schuyler  had 
not  arrived.  Fate  seemed  hostile. 
At  ten  o'clock  Monday  evening, 
darkness  and  heavy  rain  had 
forced  the  troops  ashore,  and  all 
night  they  had  lain  in  the  woods, 
— many,  if  not  all  of  them,  shel 
tered  only  by  the  trees.  Tuesday, 
they  had  worked  north  to  Crown 
Point;  and  there,  'among  the  fleas,' 
contrary  winds  now  held  them  MONTGOMERY*  SWORD 
chained.  In  vain  it  was  ordered  to  dress  the  pro 
visions  as  quickly  as  possbile,  and  the  soldiers  were 
told  to  'bake  their  own  Bread  with  all  Dispatch/  The 
gale  blew  on;  and  the  ruins  of  the  two  forts,  added  to  the 
confusion  and  the  storm,  were  no  good  omen,  thought 
Ritzema. 

But  Montgomery  had  seen  too  much  service  to  worry 
uselessly:  in  his  eighteenth  year  he  had  begun  to  follow 


20  §  Based  upon  the  portrait  belonging  to  the  family  ;  Henry,  Journal,  p. 
94;  Humphrey,  Journal,  Dec.  2;  Thayer,  Journal,  Dec.  2;  Morison,  Journal, 
uudated  ;  Topham,  Journal,  Dec.  2  ;    I,.  L,.  H[unt],  Biog.  Notes,  p.  5.     Sword: 
F.  C.  Wurtele  (ed.),  Blockade,  p.  XIII. 
VOL.  i. — 21. 


322  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

the  British  colors,  and  now  he  found  himself  in  his 
thirty-ninth.  He  studied  the  horizon:  the  wall  of  the 
Green  Mountains  in  the  southeast,  rising  higher  as  it 
approached,  and  then  hiding  behind  the  near  ridge  of 
Snake  Mountain  on  the  northeast;  Willsborough  Moun 
tain,  barring  the  north,  but  not  lofty  enough  to  stop  the 
rough  wind;  Bald  Peak  on  the  northwest,  just  across  the 
bay,  where  winter  had  scarcely  said  good-bye;  and,  on 
the  south  of  it,  a  pair  of  Adirondack  summits  holding  up 
the  clouds.  There  were  signs  of  better  weather.  A 
change  must  come  soon.  And  the  General,  after  sending 
word  to  Schuyler  how  the  'Barbarous  north  wind'  held 
him  back,  drew  up  and  signed  his  will,  for  there  was 
dangerous  work  ahead. 

Happily  the  signs  did  not  fail.  Weather-vanes  pointed 
right  the  next  morning,  and  orders  were  immediately 
given  to  embark.  Gladly  enough  the  twelve  hundred 
men  that  were  to  go  turned  out.  Swarming  over  the  long, 
rotting  mole  of  logs,  pinned  roughly  together  and  filled 
with  heavy  stones,  they  threw  themselves  with  many 
shouts  into  the  jostling  throng  of  bateaux,— some  twenty 
men  to  each,21  while  more  than  two  hundred  found  places 
in  each  of  the  big  flat-bottomed  vessels,  besides  leaving 
room  to  work  the  i2-pounder  in  each  bow;  and  then, 
escorted  by  the  steamer  Liberty  and  the  sloop  Enterprise, 
black  with  men  and  small  cannon,  the  straggling  fleet  got 
slowly  under  way,  while  a  thousand  flashes  from  the 
polished  steel  answered  as  many  from  the  waves. 

With  a  backward  look  at  the  sloping  ledges  of  grey 
limestone,  the  ruined  bastions  and  the  dark,  shaggy  mass 
of  Bulawagga  Mountain  rising  beyond  them  all,  the 
soldiers  bade  good-bye  to  Crown  Point  and  swept  gaily 
down  the  lake,  halting  each  night  at  some  convenient 

21  Sch.  to  Hancock,  July  21,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  1702. 


The  Army  Sails  North  323 

spot.  As  if  watching  a  magnificent  panorama,  they 
sailed  on  past  Northwest  Bay,  with  its  galaxy  of  peaks 
near  and  far ;  past  the  wide,  green  meadows  that  now 
lead  up  to  Vergennes;  past  Split  Rock  Point,  with  its 
unfailing  capful  of  wind;  past  the  Four  Brothers,  green 
islets  filled  with  the  hatching-places  of  the  gulls;  past 
Rock  Dunder  and  Burlington  harbor  far  in  the  distance  ; 
past  Trembleau  Point  and  the  land-locked  waters  of  Cum 
berland  Bay,  where  Macdonough  was  to  rival  Paul  Jones; 
past  Cumberland  Head  and  South  Hero ;  past  the 
massive  peaks  of  the  Green  Mountains,  which  marched 
all  day  on  the  right  in  mantles  of  blue-grey  mottled  with 
vast  shadows,  but  slipped  on  robes  of  violet  as  the  sun 
went  down  behind  the  Adi- 
rondacks;  and  finally,  passing 
the  high  point  of  He  la  Motte, 
a  bluff  of  rich,  light  marble 
veined  with  black,  the  fleet 
drew  in  to  the  shore  of  the 
island  at  'a  fine  sandy  beach* 

ROCK  DUNDER 

over      against     Iron      Point. 

Here  the  troops  had  orders  from  their  Major-General  to 

await  him. 

Schuyler,  for  his  part,  received  word  from  Montgomery 
on  the  twenty-seventh  of  his  intention  to  move  at  once; 
and  he  not  only  accepted  this  decision  with  hearty  good 
will,  but  determined  to  follow  his  lieutenant's  advice  about 
rejoining  the  army.22  Leaving  the  Indian  council  as  soon 
as  he  could,  he  reached  Ticonderoga  Wednesday  night 
(August  30)  quite  ill.  But  he  would  not  spare  himself; 
and,  pushing  on  the  next  morning  in  a  whale-boat,  after 
giving  orders  to  forward  more  troops  and  artillery,  he 


22  §  Sch.  to  Wash.,   Aug.    27,    1775:    4    Force,   III.,  442.    Id.  to    Hancock, 
Sept.  8,  1775 ;  ib.  669. 


324  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

reached  He  la  Motte  the  next  Monday  before  noon.  At 
once  the  troops  prepared  to  move;  and  in  the  afternoon, 
rowing  very  hard  but  in  fine  military  order,  they  passed 
the  stone  mill  at  Windmill  Point,  entered  the  lake-like 
river,  and  presently  were  coasting  He  aux  T£tes,  where 
the  Indians  had  planted,  during  the  late  war,  an  orchard 
of  poles  fruited  with  the  heads  of  their  enemies.  Finally 
they  landed  without  opposition  on  Nut  Island,  and 
pitched  their  tents.  Three  cannon  shots  then  broke  the 
evening  stillness  of  the  woods;  for  this  was  the  announce 
ment  of  their  arrival  agreed  upon  with  the  Canadians. 
Enthusiasm  ran  high.  The  twelve  hundred  raw  young 
fellows  were  not  exactly  an  army,  but  they  felt  like  one; 
and  more  were  coming.  A  sense  of  great  events  just 
ahead  put  new  life  into  every  heart,  and  the  thrill  of  a 
subdued  excitement  rippled  through  the  camp. 

The  next  day  Schuyler  felt  miserable  but  kept  at  work. 
Then,  if  not  sooner,  he  found  time  to  read  a  letter  that 
had  come  from  Canada  some  days  before.  James  Living 
ston,  an  active  young  lawyer  whose  father  and  brothers 
worked  for  the  cause  of  Liberty  at  Montreal,  had  set  up 
five  or  six  years  before,  about  nine  miles  below  Chambly 
Fort,  as  a  dealer  in  wheat.  Well  acquainted  with  all  the. 
farmers  around,  he  could  be  of  great  service  to  the 
American  scouts;  and,  although  his  chief  business  con 
sisted  in  purchasing  grain  for  his  brother-in-law,  the 
contractor-general  to  the  British  troops,  he  devoted  him 
self  with  all  his  energy  to  the  interests  of  the  Colonies. 
Brown,  on  returning  from  his  second  trip,  carried  a  letter 
from  him  to  Schuyler,  and  now  he  had  written  again." 

One  item  of  bad  news  had  to  be  reported:  Baker's  im- 

23  §  j   i,iv  ,  Memorial  (read  in  Cong.,  Mar,  7,  1782):  Cont.  Cong.  Papers, 
No  41,  V,p   246.    Id   to  cousin,  Jan.   25,   i8ig:    Bancroft  Coll.    N.  Y.   Docs 
Colon.   Hist.,  VIII.,  p.  662,  note.    J.  Iviv.  to  -       — ,  Sept.  18,  1775  (appended 
note):  Can.  Arch.,  Q,  n,  p.  252.    Verreau  (Sanguinet),  Invasion,  p.  48.    J.  MV. 
to  Sen.,  Aug.  -,  1775:  Emmet  Coll. 


326  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

prudence  had  borne  fruit,  and  some  Indians  of  Caughna- 
waga,  angrily  digging  up  the  hatchet,  had  gone  to  join 
the  British  at  St.  Johns.  Also,  the  letter  brought  the 
sorrow  of  the  might-have-been,  telling  how  the  overtaxed 
regulars  had  felt  'much  harrasted,'  and  'Numbers'  had 
been  ready  to  desert;  and  how  Livingston  himself,  if 
backed  with  only  five  hundred  men,  could  have  seized  all 
the  ammunition  intended  for  St.  Johns,  as  it  passed  his 
door.  The  Canadians,  he  said,  after  waiting  'with  the  ut 
most  Impatience,'  were  beginning  to  despair  of  seeing  an 
American  army;  but  he  would  try  to  'revive  their  Spirits 
by  sending  Sircular  Letters'  to  the  parish  Captains,  and 
would  be  ready  as  well  as  he  could  be  to  co-operate  with 
the  invaders.  'Make  haste  then  ! '  he  entreated.24 

Schuyler  now  thought  it  proper  to  issue  an  address, 
and  drew  up  one  immediately.  'Our  brothers,  the  Cana 
dians,  for  whom  the  same  chains  are  preparing  as  for 
ourselves  will  learn  with  pleasure,'  he  felt  sure,  'the 
decision  of  the  Grand  Congress  to  send  an  army  into 
Canada,  in  order  to  drive  away,  if  possible,  the  troops  of 
Great  Britain,  who — acting  to-day  at  the  instigation  and 
under  the  orders  of  a  despotic  ministry — aim  to  subject 
their  fellow-citizens  and  brethren  to  the  yoke  of  a  hard 
slavery.  Yet,  however  necessary  such  a  step,  be 
assured,  gentlemen,'  he  continued,  'that  the  Congress 
would  never  have  resolved  upon  it,  had  there  been  reason 
to  suppose  that  it  would  not  be  agreeable  to  you;  but, 
judging  of  your  feelings  by  their  own,  they  have  believed 
that  only  pressing  necessity  could  bring  you  to  put  up 
with  the  daily  insults  and  outrages  inflicted  upon  you, 
and  see  with  a  quiet  eye  the  chains  made  ready  which  are 
to  bind  you  and  your  remotest  posterity  in  a  common 
bondage.'  2& 

2  4  Emmet  Coll. 

25  §  Sept.  5,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,   671.    The  text,   however,   has  been  trans- 


Schuyler  Addresses  the  Canadians       327 

Only  to  preserve  them  from  so  fatal  a  slavery  had  the 
Americans  come.  Property  and  rights — both  temporal 
and  spiritual — would  be  protected,  and  the  troops  had  so 
kindly  a  feeling  for  their  Canadian  brethren  that  it  would 
'never  be  necessary  to  punish  a  single  offence  against 
them.'  A  treaty  had  been  made  with  the  Iroquois,  and 
the  General  was  bringing  presents  for  the  Indians  of 
Canada.  Had  any  of  these  been  killed,  it  was  done  'con 
trary  to  the  strictest  orders  and  by  evil-minded  persons 
hostile  to  our  honorable  and  glorious  cause ' ;  and  he 
added:  'I  shall  take  very  special  pleasure  in  burying  the 
dead  and  wiping  away  the  tears  of  their  surviving 
relatives.'  This  was  no  doubt  a  little  unfair  to  Captain 
Baker;  but  Schuyler  had  been  so  troubled  by  his 
imprudence,26  that  he  felt  he  must  strain  every  nerve — 
and  even  the  truth  itself — to  counteract  its  evil  effect. 
The  explanation,  like  the  rest  of  the  paper,  sounded  well; 
and,  with  copies  of  the  document  in  their  pockets, 
Hthan  Allen  and  Major  Brown  set  out  for  Livingston's. 

Meanwhile,  most  of  the  baggage  had  been  landed, 
enough  provisions  for  three  days  cooked  and  packed,  and 
all  the  arms  put  *  in  good  firing  Order';  and,  early  the 
next  morning,  the  fleet,  drawn  up  in  regular  style,  moved 
bravely  on  *  in  profound  Silence '  down  the  smooth  avenue 
of  waters.  In  this  part  of  its  course,  the  river  spread 
more  than  half  a  mile  in  width.  On  both  sides  towered 
massive  walls  of  pines,  hemlocks,  and  firs,  through  whose 
dark  magnificence  a  beam  of  sunshine  slanted  into  the 
water  here  and  there,  or  a  gush  of  air,  laden  with  balmy 
and  delightful  odors,  crept  down  to  dim  faintly  the 
polish  of  the  stream. 

Every  heart  beat  high.  '  Of  this  at  least  we  are 
assured,'  so  the  Grand  Congress  had  published  to  the 


lated  from  the   French  version  (Can.   Arch.,  Q,  n,  p.  258)  because  that  was 
what  was  actually  circulated. 

26  Sch.  to  Ind.  Commrs.,  Aug.  31,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  493. 


328  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

English  people  in  July,  'that  our  Struggle  will  be 
glorious,  our  Success  certain;  since  even  in  Death  we 
shall  find  that  Freedom  which  in  Life  you  forbid  us  to 
enjoy'27;  and  now  this  noble  alternative  lay  just  ahead. 
'A  spirit  of  enthusiasm  has  gone  forth,'  wrote  a  patriot, 
'that  has  driven  away  the  fear  of  death' ;  and  here  was  its 
opportunity.  Not  pyramids,  but  nations,  had  their  gaze 
upon  the  expedition.  Besides,  other  spurs  were  not  lack 
ing.  Walker  and  Price  were  said  to  be  lying  in  a  jail  at 
Montreal,  and  Baker's  head  was  believed  to  be  calling 
for  vengeance  from  the  top  of  a  pole  at  St.  Johns.  Could 
the  redcoats  be  allowed  to  carry  out,  by  such  diabolical 
means,  'the  infernal  scheme  of  enslaving  their  American 
brethren'? 

A  little  before  three  o'clock,  the  stronghold  of  despotism, 
Fort  St.  John,  could  be  discerned  on  the  west  bank  of 
the  river  some  two  miles  distant.  Many  did  not  make  it 
out,  so  little  rose  its  walls  above  the  flat  shore;  but  all 
could  see  its  flags  and  the  puffs  of  smoke  that  rose  gently 
into  the  air,  and  all  realized  very  soon  that  they  were 
being  'kindly  saluted  with  bombs  and  cannon.'  How 
ever,  the  firing  proved  no  worse  than  a  salute,  for  the  fleet 

bore  to  the  left,  under  the 
shelter  of  a  point,  before  any 
one  was  hit ;  and,  after  row 
ing  on  about  half  a  mile  far 
ther,  the  brigade-major — some 
forty  rods  in  advance  of  the 
main  body — was  ordered  to 

ON    LAKE   CHAMPLAIN  tufn     back      &    Httle     and     land 

with  five  boats.  Then  the  whole  fleet,  which  had 
appeared  to  be  bound  straight  on,  suddenly  veered  to  the 
left  and  ran  in  beside  him,  so  that  any  schemes  of  the 

27  Journ.  Cong.,  July  8,  1775 


A  Skirmish  329 

enemy  to  prevent  a  landing  were  frustrated.  With  all 
speed,  the  troops  now  waded  ashore  into  the  'deep,  close 
swamp, '  formed  as  well  as  possible,  and  marched  forward 
to  reconnoitre.  Suddenly,  as  the  left  flank  were  cross 
ing  Bernier's  Brook — a  deep,  slippery,  muddy,  winding 
creek  in  the  midst  of  the  dense  bush — a  blaze  burst  out, 
almost  in  their  faces.  A  few  men  fell.  But  the  Colo 
nials,  wheeling  to  the  left,  pushed  on;  and,  after  the  fight 
had  ebbed  and  flowed  for  about  half  an  hour,  the  enemy 
retreated.  By  this  time  night  began  to  fall,  and  a  '  pretty 
good  Breastwork'  was  thrown  up  on  the  marsh,  perhaps 
a  mile  from  the  fort;  but,  as  the  British  gunners  soon 
found  the  spot,  Schuyler  drew  the  troops  back  a  short 
distance,  dug  another  intrenchment,  and  encamped  there. 

The  shells  troubled  him  little  now;  but  a  more  danger 
ous  visitor  came.  Some  'gentleman,'  whose  name  the 
General  dared  not  mention  even  to  Congress,  appeared  at 
his  tent  and  gave  a  chilling  report  of  the  prospects.  The 
fortifications  at  St.  Johns  were  '  complete  and  strong,  and 
plentifully  furnished  with  cannon';  and  one  of  the 
vessels,  designed  '  to  carry  sixteen  guns,'  would  be  ready 
to  sail  in  three  or  four  days.  Probably  the  Americans 
would  not  be  joined  by  'one  Canadian';  and  in  short, 
instead  of  attacking  the  fort,  it  would  be  best  merely  'to 
send  some  parties  amongst  the  inhabitants,  and  the 
remainder  of  the  army  to  retire  to  the  Isle-aux-Noix.'28 

Schuyler  probably  had  in  his  pocket  at  that  moment 
a  deftly  contrived  epistle  from  Samuel  Chase  of  the  Con 
tinental  Congress.  'I  think  you,  therefore,  in  a  very 
critical  situation,  and  that  an  exertion  of  all  your 
faculties,  of  mind  and  body,  are  necessary,'  wrote  this 
gentleman;  'May  I  be  permitted  to  wish,  that  a  military 
ardour,  a  soldier's  honour,  or  a  compliance  with  the 


zs  Sch.  to  Wash.,  Sept.  20,  1775.  4  Force,  III.,  751.     Id.  to  Hancock,  Sept. 
5,  1775:  ib.,  669.    REMARK  XIX 


330  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

temper  and  inclinations  of  others,  may  not  prevail  over 
your  better  judgement.  There  may  be  some,  from  want 
of  discretion,  and  others  from  envy,  who  may  be  urging 
you  to  undertake,  what  your  prudence  may  condemn.  .  . 
God  grant  you  success!'29  Every  phrase  hit  some  weak 
spot  in  Schuyler's  armor. 

Whatever  pleasant  sins  the  General  had  committed 
in  the  whole  course  of  his  life,  that  night  atoned  for 
them  all.  Heavens,  what  a  situation!  The  jungle,  the 
swamp,  the  mud,  the  miasma  outside  his  tent  were  as 
nothing,  compared  with  the  jungle,  the  swamp,  the 
mud,  the  miasma  within  it.  Every  '  doubt'  came  back, 
and  now  with  remorse  in  its  tail.  '  Propriety  '  appeared  to 
turn  her  face  away;  '  prudence '  hid  under  the  wet  canvas; 
and  only  the  bilious  fever  that  consumed  him  throve  in 
those  long  hours  of  darkness. 

In  the  morning,  worn  and  haggard,  he  summoned  a 
council  of  war,  and  laid  the  advice  of  his  new  friend  before 
it.  Personally,  he  considered  it  'absolutely  necessary'  to 
retire,  and  the  impression  that  his  opinion  made  upon 
others  no  doubt  ensured  the  result.  All  agreed  to  go 
back  at  once,  throw  a  boom  across  the  river,  build  works 
to  defend  it,  '  there  wait  for  Certain  Intelligence  Touching 
the  Intentions  of  the  Canadians,'— as  if  anything  could  be 
expected  more  certain  than  had  already  come,  unless  they 
should  finally  despair  and  yield  to  Carleton  in  a  body; 
and,  'when  re-enforced,  send  a  Strong  detachment  into  the 
Country  by  Land— should  the  Canadians  Favor  such  a 
Design.'  So  all  were  directed  to  go  back  as  they  came, 
'  without  Noise; '  and  Schuyler  gave  it  out  in  orders  that 
he  had  made  the  excursion  simply  'to  try  the  disposition 
of  the  Canadians,  and  give  them  an  opportunity  of 
taking  up  arms  in  the  common  cause.'38 

29  Annapolis,  Aug.  10,  1775:  Sparks  MSS.,  No.  60,  p.  3. 

30  Jos.  Smith,  Journal.    Trumbull,  Journal.    Council:  Cont.  Cong.  Papers, 


The  Army  Retreats 


'Perhaps,'  commented  Ritzema  in  French;  but  others 
handled  the  affair  more  freely.  The  facts  about  the 
skirmish  were  that  Captain  Tice,  a  Johnstown  Tory, 
aided  by  lyorimier,  had  met  the  Americans  with  rather  less 
than  one  hundred  savages;  that  each  side  lost  about  half 
a  dozen  killed  and  as  many  wounded;  and  that  Tice's 


AN    EVENING   VIEW  OF  ILE   LA   MOTTE    FROM    IRON    POINT 

party,  as  was  natural,  retired;  but  stories  very  different 
from  that  soon  passed  current  all  over  Canada.  Sixty 
Indians  drove  fifteen  hundred  Americans  'under  cover  of 
their  intrenchments,'  announced  the  Quebec  Gazette, 
killing  forty  and  wounding  thirty,  if  not  more.  Ainslie 
heard  that  eighty-three  Indians  drove  twelve  hundred 
rebels,  killing  and  wounding  many.  'After  their  Defeat 
the  Rebels  retired  to  the  Isle  aux  Noix,'  wrote  Cramahe. 


J53i  I-.  P-  T37-  Sch.'s  orders  expressed  the  '  hope '  that  the  troops  would 
not  feel  dispirited  on  account  of  the  withdrawal,  a  plain  hint  that  they  had 
reason  to  feel  so. 


332  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

'The  Indians,  who  were  there,  attacked,  and  drove 
them  back  to  their  boats, '  was  the  report  forwarded  by 
Carleton  from  Montreal;  and  a  grand  mass  with  a  Te 
Deum  celebrated  this  '  victory  '  at  the  island  capital. 

Lies  were  common  enough  in  1775,  no  doubt,  and  peo 
ple  not  ready  to  believe  all  they  heard;  but  how  could 
one  explain  why  a  thousand  soldiers,  who  had  taken  the 
trouble  to  come,  had  vanished  after  a  fight,  if  they  were 
not  beaten?  Who  could  suppose  that  Schuyler  had 
expected  the  Canadians  to  rise  and  march  to  him  in  the 
darkness  of  his  first  night  in  the  country?  And  how 
much  more  '  certain  '  was  their  co-operation  likely  to  be 
after  such  an  affair?  In  short,  was  a  worse  fiasco 
possible  ? 

It  was.  On  returning  to  Nut  Island,  Schuyler  found 
himself  too  weak  even  '  to  hold  the  pen,'  but  he  was 
able  to  throw  Congress  into  palpitations.31  'Should  we 
not  be  able  to  do  anything  decisively  in  Canada,'  he 
announced,  'I  shall  judge  it  best  to  move  from  this  place, 
which  is  a  very  wet  and  unhealthy  part  of  the  Country, 
unless  I  receive  orders  to  the  contrary.'  This  was 
evidently  the  avant-courier  of  retreat  and  failure,  and  so 
Congress  understood  it.  But  in  the  meantime  the  boom 
was  constructed,  and  fortifying  began.  Three  hundred 
of  Hinman's  troops  and  four  hundred  of  the  Second  New 
Yorkers  (Van  Schaick's),  with  three  pieces  of  cannon, 
arrived.  So  did  an  anonymous  letter,  evidently  from 
Livingston,  begging  for  a  party  to  cut  the  communica 
tions  of  St.  Johns,  and  capture  the  armed  but  slenderly 
manned  vessels  at  the  mouth  of  the  Richelieu,  so  as  to 
secure  their  valuable  cargoes  and  prevent  the  British 
from  escaping  to  Quebec.  '  The  Canadians  are  all 
Friends,'  he  added,  but  'I  expect  a  party  of  your  men 


See  Hancock  to  Sch.,  Sept.  20,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  749. 


The  Troops  Become  Demoralized        333 

before  they  will  stir.'  At  about  the  same  time,  Allen 
reported  that  the  people  had  taken  'Great  Courage  at 
Hearing  of  the  Siege  of  Saint  Johns,'  and  Brown 
that  both  he  and  they  felt  greatly  disappointed  by 
Schuyler's  withdrawal. 

Under  these  circumstances,  it  was  decided  to  act  upon 
Livingston's  idea.  On  the  tenth  of  September  Mont 
gomery,  with  some  eight  hundred  men,  landed  at  the 
upper  breastwork  about  nine  or  ten  o'clock  in  the  even 
ing,  and  five  hundred  of  the  troops,  under  the  command 
of  Lieutenant- Colonel  Ritzema,  set  out  for  a  march 
around  the  fort  through  the  woods.  Needless  to  say, 
their  ears  were  attuned  to  alarm.  The  prediction  of  an 
officer  expressed  their  feelings:  'A  bloody  engagement 
must  ensue.'  The  suddenness  of  the  attack  made  upon 
them  here  a  few  days  before  could  not  be  forgotten.  The 
darkness  seemed  quivering  with  the  heart-beats  of  lurking 
savages.  From  the  dim  outline  of  every  tree-trunk  an 
angry  scalp-lock  appeared  to  shoot.  A  faint  clash  of 
steel,  a  cracking  of  twigs,  the  fall  of  stealthy  moccasins — 
who  could  not  hear  them  on  the  right,  on  the  left? 
Suddenly  a  louder  sound  made  itself  distinctly  audible. 
There  were  certainly  men- — a  body  of  men — troops — In 
dians,  of  course — regulars,  too,  no  doubt;  and  they  were 
coming,  coming  fast  ! 

It  was  true:  they  were  coming.  An  American  flank 
ing  party,  finding  the  woods  almost  impassable  and 
fearful  of  getting  lost,  had  veered  to  the  right  and  struck 
the  mainline  just  at  the  head  of  Waterbury's  men. 

In  an  instant  the  column  broke  in  a  panic.  Some  of 
the  troops  behind  undertook,  with  fixed  bayonets,  to 
stop  'the  fugitive  Rascals';  but  these  dashed  madly  into 
woods  and  water  and  mud  and  swamp-holes, — any 
way  to  gain  the  rear.  Finally  all  went  back;  and  then, 
after  a  vigorous  exhortation  from  General  Montgomery 


334  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 


ON   NUT   ISLAND 


'to  act  like  men,'  they  formed  and  set  out  again.  When 
they  had  marched  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  some  grape 
and  a  few  small  shells  began  to  come  from  the  river,  and 

'  the  same  Gentry ' 
who  had  caused  the 
confusion  before, 
broke  again,  and 
carried  half  the  di 
vision  back.  The  rest 
kept  on  to  the  lower 
breastwork,  discov 
ered  a  few  of  the 
enemy  there,  killed 

the  Indian  interpreter,  and  did  some  further  slight  execu 
tion.  But  by  this  time  it  was  about  three  o'clock,  and 
Montgomery  recalled  them  to  the  upper  intrenchment. 
Early  in  the  morning,  a  council  of  war  agreed  upon 
carrying  out  the  plan,  and  the  soldiers  assented.  The 
men  formed  'with  seeming  alacrity';  but  at  this  moment 
news  arrived  that  Carleton's  schooner,  not  only  pierced 
for  sixteen  guns  but  'completely  equipped,'  lay  a  mile 
and  a  half  or  so  distant  and — as  some  said — was  coming, 
whereupon  a  part  of  Waterbury's  men,  the  cause  of  all  the 
mischief,  bolted  for  their  boats.  The  council  then  decided 
by  a  majority  of  votes  that,  as  the  bateaux  would  have  to 
be  taken  to  Nut  Island  for  security,  the  troops  had  better 
go  with  them;  and  upon  that  back  they  all  posted— 
devil- take-the-hindmost  —  thoroughly  demoralized,  and 
expecting  to  see  that  Leviathan  of  a  schooner  upon  them 
at  any  moment,  to  screen  themselves  behind  the  hazelnut 
bushes  on  the  island. 

Mortars  and  cannon  were  then  mounted  on  the  large 
bateaux  ;  and  Schuyler,  in  a  general  order,  called  for 
volunteers  to  board  the  dreaded  vessel.  But  all  en 
thusiasm  had  vanished;  and  suspicion,  engendered  by  the 


The  Enterprise  Appears  Hopeless       335 

delays  at  Ticouderoga  and  now  grown  big,  had  taken  its 
place.  It  was  generally  supposed  by  the  men,  said 
Chaplain  Trumbull,  that  he  had  given  up  the  hope  of 
accomplishing  anything,  and,  believing  the  troops  would 
not  volunteer  on  so  perilous  an  adventure,  took  this  way  to 
'throw  all  the  Blame  on  the  inferior  Officers  &  Soldiers'; 
so  'a  general  Answer  was  made  by  the  Troops  To  this 
Effect,  that  They  were  all  volunteers  and  had  been  from 
the  Beginning,  and  were  ready  to  attempt  any  Thing 
which  could  be  .  .  .  thought  practicable  and  Reasonable.' 
Sulkiness  had  arrived,  and  mutiny  was  coming  post. 
Sickness  proved  so  popular  that  invalid  rations  had  to 
be  cut  down  one-half.  Groundless  alarms  became  sc  com 
mon  as  to  require  special  attention;  and  so  did  running 
from  camp  when  no  man  pursued.  One  fellow  cocked  his 
gun  and  took  aim  at  his  lieutenant.  Roaming  soldiers 
plundered  the  residents  of  the  island.  A  sergeant  had 
to  be  reduced  for  insubordination.  Many  culprits  were 
acquitted  by  the  court-martial  because  no  one  had  spirit 
enough  to  bear  witness  against  them.  It  became  a 
'general  opinion'  among  the  chief  officers  that  the 
expedition  could  not  proceed.  With  all  Canada,  from 
the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  from  the  Great  Lakes  to  the 
Arctic  Ocean,  hanging  in  the  balance,  the  whole  mission 
of  the  northern  army,  except  possibly  for  inert  defence, 
appeared  to  have  collapsed.  And  finally,  as  if  to  confirm 
ever}'-  ill  omen  and  promise  a  ridiculous  as  well  as  com 
plete  fiasco,  General  Schuyler,  totally  worn  out  and  sick 
from  centre  to  circumference,  was  laid,  under  a  gloomy 
sky  and  under  the  darkening  eyes  of  the  troops,  in  a 
covered  boat,  and,  overwhelmed  with  chagrin,  set  out  in 
a  chilly  storm  for  the  rear  (September  i6).32 


3  2  §  See  particularly.  Trumbull,  Journal  ;  '  Montgomery's  '  Orderly  Book ; 
J.  van  Rensselaer's  letter:  Bonney,  Gleanings,  I.,  p.  45.    REMARK  XX. 


XII 
THE  CURTAIN  RISES 

GOVERNOR  CARLETON,  meanwhile,  found  himself 
somewhat  in  the  condition  of  those  heinous  crimi 
nals  of  a  former  time,  to  whose  members  fiery  horses  were 
attached,  and  then  driven  under  the  lash  toward  the  four 
points  of  the  compass.  In  the  mere  administration  of 
the  province,  peculiar  difficulties  beset  him  just  now.  It 
would  hardly  answer,  he  doubtless  understood,  to  let  the 
great  Quebec  Act  be  still-born,  and  indeed  the  Chief- 
Justice  took  the  ground  that,  in  spite  of  the  proclamation 
of  martial  law,  something  'must  be  done';  but  the  Legis 
lative  Council,  after  meeting  several  times  and  accom 
plishing  nothing,  was  broken  up  by  Carleton's  leaving 
Quebec  suddenly  and  in  all  haste  for  the  front.  Con 
sequently  the  entire  civil  management  rested  on  his 
shoulders.1 

Revolt,  even  at  the  capital,  was  feared.  As  early  as 
June,  people  thoroughly  loyal  to  the  Crown  had  not  only 
been  '  astonished '  by  the  numbers  and  activity  of  the 
rebellious,  as  the  Governor  discovered,  but  felt  '  greatly 
intimidated  at  seeing  no  Force  or  Power  able  to  protect 
them  ' ;  and  little  had  occurred  since  to  reassure  their 
minds.  What  effect  such  a  state  of  things  was  having 
on  the  lukewarm  and  the  neutral  could  easily  be  divined. 

i  §  Hey  to  Chancellor,  Aug.  28,  1775:  Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Colon.  Corres  Quebec, 
ii  p  365.  Leg.  Council:  Better  from  Quebec,  Oct.  i,  1775  (4  Force,  III.,  924); 
Verreau  (Sanguinet),  Invasion,  p.  42  ;  Bourinot,  Can.  under  Brit.  Rule,  p.  48. 

336 


Carleton's  Embarrassments  337 

Like  the  quicksands  of  Mont  St.  Michel  when  invaded  by 
the  tide,  the  ground  seemed  to  be  crumbling  everywhere, 
and  it  appeared  unsafe  to  build  on  any  part  of  it. 
Measures  'that  formerly  would  have  been  extremely 
popular,'  required  now— as  Carleton  had  realized  for 
months—'  a  great  degree  of  Caution  and  Circumspection  ' ; 
and  every  day  this  trouble  grew  more  serious.  Even 
where  not  actually  'corrupted,'  the  habitants  were  uncer 
tain.  Bold,  positive  steps  could  not  be  hazarded;  and  out 
of  this  handicap  grew  further  embarrassments,  for  men 
imperfectly  informed  as  to  the  true  condition  of  things 
looked  upon  the  General  as  dilatory,  secretive,  and  cold. 
Misunderstandings  were  a  natural  consequence.  '  Every 
thing  with  him  is  Mystery,'  grumbled  Major  Caldwell. 
'  Time  presses,'  he  added  impatiently;  and  this  was  in 
May.2 

Even  had  the  province  been  united  and  loyal  and  the 
methods  of  administration  settled,  the  Governor  would 
have  had  more  than  enough  to  do.  '  I  hope  Mr.  Carleton 
does  not  intend  that  the  enemy  should  remain  long  in 
possession  of  Ticonderoga,'  wrote  Caldwell  to  England; 
and  back  from  England,  as  if  in  answer,  came  Dart 
mouth's  admonition:  'Our  dependence  for  the  recovery 
of  the  Post  of  Ticonderoga  out  of  the  hands  of  the  Rebels, 
is  upon  the  efforts  of  the  Province  of  Quebec.'  'At  least 
5000  men  with  Cannon  and  a  great  deal  of  other  appara 
tus  not  easy  to  be  had,'  would  be  needed  for  that  enter 
prise,  a  British  Canadian  assured  Maseres.8 

As  soon  as  the  news  of  Lexington  reached  the  home 


2  Revolt:     J.  I,iv.  to    Sch.,   Aug.  — ,   1775   (Emmet  Coll.).      Carleton    to 
Dartmouth,   June  26,    1775:   Pub.  Rec.   Off.,  Colon.  Corres  ,  Quebec,  n,  p.  QOQ. 
Caution:    Id.  to   Id.,    June  7,  1775  (ib.,  p.  383).    Uncertain:  Id   to  Id  ,  Aug   14 
1775  (ib.,  p.  347).    Caldwell  to  I,ord  —      — ,  May—,    1775:   MSS.  of  Marq.  of 
I^ansdowne,  Vol   66,  fo.  97. 

3  §  Caldwell:  Note  2.    Dartmouth  to  Carleton,  July  4,  1775-  Bancroft  Coll 
Amer.  Papers,  II.,  p.  407  (4og).     Maseres  to  Shelburne,  Aug.  24,  1775:  MSS.  of 


Marq.  of  Lansdowne,  Vol.  66,  fo.  113. 

VOL.    I.  — 22. 


338   Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

office,  the  plan  of  employing  Canadians  became  a 
favorite  scheme  there,  and  successive  letters  raised  the 
Governor's  task  to  the  height  of  six  thousand  men, — no 
simple  problem  even  had  they  been  loyal,  for  all  their 
officers  were  to  rank  below  the  youngest  grade  in  the 
regular  army.4 

In  June,  Carleton  received  word  to  take  charge  of  the 
upper  lake  posts  also,  issue  the  requisite  orders,  and 
supply  them  with  provisions.  At  Oswegatchie  it  seemed 
necessary  to  raise  works;  and  all  the  rest — Oswego, 
Niagara,  Detroit,  and  Michilimackinack — required  atten 
tion.  'Whoever  considers  the  many  avenues  which  this 
river  [the  St.  Lawrence],  with  its  several  dependants, 
affords  into  almost  every  English  colony  upon  the  con 
tinent,  can't  but  see  it  to  be  a  matter  of  great  importance 
to  the  Colonies,  immedately  to  make  themselves  masters 
of  those  remote  forts,  which  command,  as  it  were,  the 
whole  western  world  of  Indians' :  so  wrote  a  gentleman 
recently  from  Canada  to  Governor  Trumbull.  Carleton 
did  not  see  the  letter;  but  he  understood  its  logic  and 
realized  that  others  did  the  same.  'These  Posts  are  like 
wise  threatened  by  the  Rebels,'  he  reported;  and  no  little 
anxiety  the  weak  forts  and  weaker  navy  in  that  direction 
caused  him.  '  Ten  or  twelve  thousand  Men  here  with 
a  Corps  of  Artillery,  Engineers,  and  Military  Stores  in 
Proportion,'  could  be  very  well  employed,  he  thought.5 

When  Guy  Johnson  found  the  supplies  of  his  Indians 
cut  off  by  the  Colonials,  it  was  to  Carleton  that  he  applied. 
In  July,  L,ord  Dartmouth  ordered  the  Governor,  by  His 
Majesty's  express  command,  to  'exert  evety  endeavour  & 


4  §  Precis  of  Oper.    Dartmouth  to  Carleton,  July  i,  1775:  Bancroft  Coll., 
Amer.  Papers,    II.,   p.   401.     Id.  to   Id.,   July  24,   1775:  Pub.  Rec.   Off.,   Colon. 
Corres.,  Quebec,  n,  p.  279. 

5  §  Carleton  to  Dartmouth,  June  26,   1775:  Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Colon.  Corres., 
Quebec,  u,  p.  309.    Id.  to  Id.,  June  7,  1775:  ib.,  p.  283.    Narrative-  4  Force,  II., 
1594.     Anxiety:  Carl,  to  Dartmouth,  Aug.   14.    1775  (Can.  Arch.,  Q,  n,  p.  222). 


Carleton's  Military  Policy  341 

employ  every  means '  in  his  power  to  aid  and  support 
General  Gage  and  Admiral  Graves  '  in  all  such  opera 
tions  '  as  they  might  think  proper  to  undertake  ;  and  in 
August,  as  Gage  had  returned  home,  he  was  given  the 
supreme  military  authority  for  Canada  and  the  frontiers, 
with  instructions  to  take  precedence  of  General  Howe, 
should  the  two  join  forces, — another  interesting  subject 
for  thought.  Meanwhile,  his  communications  with  the 
Colonies  by  land  were  '  entirely  stopped '  in  the  spring, 
and  the  customary  supplies  of  cash  from  New  York  and 
Philadelphia  cut  off.' 

As  for  troops,  Hey  well  said  that  the  preservation  of 
the  province  depended  more  upon  the  Americans  than 
upon  the  British  :  the  question  was  not  whether  it  could 
be  defended,  but  whether  it  was  to  be  attacked.  Accord 
ing  to  the  returns  made  early  in  June,  the  Royal  Fusi 
liers,  or  yth  Regiment  of  Foot,  included  at  that  time  three 
hundred  and  seventy-six  privates  fit  for  duty,  seventy- 
eight  of  whom  were  on  command  at  St.  Johns.  The 
26th  Regiment  of  Foot  had  two  hundred  and  sixty-three 
privates  fit  for  duty,  one  hundred  and  eight  of  them  at 
the  same  post.  None  of  these  men,  however,  had  been 
under  fire,  and  both  regiments  lacked  a  number  of  officers 
absent  on  leave  or  not  yet  arrived.  Of  the  few  regular 
artillerymen,  more  than  half  were  stationed  in  the 
west, — only  twelve  on  the  Richelieu  River.  Such  was 
the  force  to  be  encountered  at  the  door,  had  the  Colonials 
invaded  Canada  at  that  time.7 

Two  main  alternatives  lay  before  the  Governor,  when 
threatened  by  Schuyler.  First,  the  regulars  might  be 


§  Johnson:  Carleton  to  Dartmouth,  June  26,  1775:  Note  5.    Dartmouth  to 


Carleton,  July  4,  12,  1775:  Can.  Arch.,  Q,  n,  p.  156  ;  12,  p.  163.  Id.  to  Id.,  Aug.  2, 
1775:  ib.,  £,  ii,  p.  198.  Gage,  Orders,  Oct.  10,  1775:  Can.  Arch.,  B,  23,  p.  156. 
Communications,  etc.:  Carleton  to  Dartmouth,  June  7,  1775  (Note  5). 

7  §  Hey  to  Chancellor,  Aug.  08,  1775:    Note  i.     Returns:  War  Office,  Orig. 
Corres.,  Vol.  12,  No.  Am.    Caldwell  to  Lord ,  May  — ,  1775:  Note  2. 


342  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

concentrated  at  Montreal,  the  town  prepared  for  defence, 
and  as  many  Canadians  as  possible  rallied  there;  and  this 
plan,  it  has  been  urged,  he  should  have  adopted.8 

But  undoubtedly  Carleton  understood  the  situation  and 
the  art  of  war  as  well  as  his  critics  ;  and  indeed  serious 
objections  to  this  course  were  visible  to  any  one.  It 
would  have  seemed  an  evidence  of  weakness  and  a  sign 
of  fear  to  abandon  Chambly,  St.  Johns,  and  the  rich 
district  about  them.  Public  cheer  and  confidence,  vitally 
important  for  their  effect  on  the  Canadians,  would  have 
sunk  rapidly.  The  machinations  of  disloyal  people  in 
Quebec  and  even  Montreal  would  have  been  encouraged. 
The  grain-fields  of  the  Richelieu  River  would  have 
winnowed  their  harvest  into  Schuyler's  magazines.  The 
people  of  that  district,  thoroughly  indoctrinated  at  leisure 
with  the  principles  of  Liberty,  would  have  proved  a 
mighty  lever  on  the  rest.  Montreal  itself,  isolated  and 
besieged,  might  sooner  or  later  have  been  starved  or 
stormed;  and  indeed,  without  waiting  to  do  either,  the 
Americans  might  have  blockaded  that  city  with  a  com 
paratively  small  force  and  then  have  proceeded  to  Quebec 
as  if  Carleton  did  not  exist.  On  the  other  hand,  were  the 
entrance  to  the  province  defended,  it  looked  as  if  all 
Canada  would  remain  in  British  hands  till  the  barricade 
should  fail;  and,  as  this  must  require  considerable  time, 
reinforcements  were  likely  to  arrive — or  else  the  dreaded 
winter — before  the  enemy  could  enter.  Meanwhile,  the 
Canadians  themselves  might  rally  behind  this  bulwark 
to  resist  the  invasion. 

For  such  reasons  or  for  better  ones,  the  Governor 
resolved  to  make  a  bold  stand  at  St.  Johns,  and  there 
the  weight  of  his  meagre  force  gathered.  Officers 
included,  the  regiments  mustered  almost  exactly  five 


s  Smyth,  Precis,  p. 


The  British  Strength  at  St.  Johns        343 

hundred,  and  the  Royal  Artillery  close  to  forty.  In 
August,  Lieutenant  Hunter,  commanding  the  armed 
brigantine  Gaspe,  called  at  Quebec  for  provisions; 
then,  on  Carleton's  urgent  request  and  order,  he  pro 
ceeded  up  the  St.  Lawrence  with  his  vessel  to  act  as 
commodore  of  the  river  fleet;  and  later,  with  a  midship 
man  and  about  a  dozen  seamen,  he  took  his  place  at  St. 
Johns.  To  these  were  added,  early  in  September, 
about  one  hundred  French-Canadian  volunteers — mostly 
men  of  rank  or  else  merchants  —  despatched  from 
Montreal.9 

One  other  contingent  made  up  the  garrison.  Early  in 
the  year,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Allan  Maclean,  a  veteran 
Highland  campaigner,  hit  upon  the  scheme  of  raising  a 
body  of  troops  from  the  old  Scotch  soldiers  that  had 
emigrated,  like  himself,  to  the  British  Colonies  of 
America.  Dartmouth  approved  of  the  plan,  and  ordered 
the  governors  of  New  York  and  North  Carolina,  the 
likeliest  fields,  to  favor  it.  '  I  wish  Lt.  Col.  McLean 
may  succeed  in  his  project,'  commented  Gage  when  giv 
ing  him  authority  to  recruit ;  '  it  must  be  effected  by 
caution  and  secrecy.'  Maclean  lacked  neither  trait,  nor 
some  other  qualities  of  value.  Once  he  was  arrested  in 
New  York,  but  managed  to  convince  the  authorities  of 
his  perfect  guilelessness,  and  was  permitted  to  visit  the 
Tory  and  Highlander  section  of  the  Colony,  where  he 
most  longed  to  go.  In  a  word,  either  he  or  Gage  sent 
recruiting  officers  through  the  province  of  Quebec,  St. 
John's  Island,  Nova  Scotia,  North  Carolina,  and  parts  of 


9  §  Carleton's  return  of  Nov.  5,  1775:  Can.  Arch.,  M,  317,  p.  255.  [See 
a  slightly  different  set  of  figures  (unofficial):  Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Am.  and  W.  I., 
Vol.  186,  p.  33.]  Hunter:  Graves  to  Stephens,  Sept.  6,  1775  (Pub.  Rec.  Off., 
Admirals'  despatches,  No.  Am.,  Vol.  6);  Carleton  to  Hunter,  Aug.  6,  1775  (ib.); 
Hunter  to  Graves,  Dec.  16,  1775  (ib.,  Vol.  5);  Carleton  to  Dartmouth,  Aug.  14, 
1775  (ib.,  Colon.  Corres.,  Quebec,  u,  p.  347).  Canadians:  Verreau,  Invasion 
(Sanguinet),  p.  42  ;  Carleton  to  Dartmouth,  Sept.  21,  1775  (Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Colon. 
Corres.,  Quebec,  n,p.  421);  list  (Can.  Arch.,  Q,  n,  p.  284). 


344  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

New  York;  and  finally  he  made  his  way  to  Canada  with 
Guy  Johnson.10 

The  chief  difficulty  lay  in  getting  the  recruits  together. 
Gage  reported  a  plan  to  '  assemble  them  in  Bodys  by 
different  Routes,'  and  hoped  that  Carleton  would  be 
able  to  plant  a  force  on  Lake  Champlain,  as  a  rendez 
vous  for  the  New  York  men;  but  these  designs  failed.  In 
Canada,  however,  where  many  of  the  veterans  had  found 
homes  on  the  St.  Lawrence  below  Quebec,  no  such  em 
barrassment  arose.  '  Great  Terms '  were  placarded  on 
church  cioors, — two  hundred  acres  of  land  in  any 
American  province,  free  from  the  customary  fees,  and 
twenty  years'  quit-rent,  besides  forty  acres  for  a  wife,  as 
many  for  each  child,  and  'one  Guinea  Levy-money.'  A 
good  number  of  the  Scots  enlisted;  and  seventy  of  these 
wiry  fighters— Royal  Highland  Emigrants— added  them 
selves,  or  were  added,  to  the  force  at  St.  Johns.  The 
total  was  about  six  hundred  and  twenty  besides  the  use 
less  French  volunteers.11 

Not  only  troops  had  gathered,  but  a  fort  had  risen 
from  the  ground,  while  the  Colonials  were  delaying. 

Only  at  the  very  end  of  June  had  the  plans  for  it  been 
decided  upon.  Two  square  redoubts,  measuring  about 
a  hundred  feet  each  way,  inside,  and  placed  about  six 
hundred  feet  apart,  were  built  by  the  Governor's  order  on 
the  western  shore  of  the  Richelieu  at  St.  Johns:  one  to 
cover  the  'little  barrack'  and  some  brick  buildings  already 

10  §  Dartmouth  to  Gage,  Apr.  15,  i775:  Bancroft  Coll.,  Eng-.  and  Am.,  1775, 
p.  109. _  Gage  to  Dartmouth,  May  25,  1775:  ib.,  p.  232.  Id.  to  Id.,  June  12  ;  July 
24  (private),  177.5:  ib.  pp.  295,  457.  For  Maclean:  N.  Y.  Docs.  (Colon.  Hist  ), 
VIII.,  p.  563,  note.  Maclean  at  N.  Y. :  Letter,  Dec,  16,  1775  (4  Force  IV  200)- 
Leake,  Lamb,  p.  115  ;  Montg.  to  N.  Y.  Cong.,  Aug.  8,  1775  (4  Force,  III.,  67).  To 
Canada:  J.  Liv.  to  Sch.,  Aug.  — ,  1775  (Emmet  Coll.). 

1 !  §  Gage  to  Dartmouth,  June  12  ;  July  24:  Note  10.  In  Can. :  McMullen, 
Canada,  I.,  p.  255,  note.  Terms :  Quebec  Gazette,  Aug.  10,  1775  ;  Senter,  Journal, 
Nov.  12.  Maclean's  return  of  his  corps  (Can.  Arch.,  M,  317,  p.  248)  is  followed. 
Total:  cf.  S  Mott  to  Trumbull,  Aug.  3,  1775:  4  Force,  III.  18  ;  Ti.  letter  in 
Boston  Gazette,  Sept.  18,  1775,  p.  2.  Useless:  Richardson  to  Tryon  (Pub.  Rec, 
Off.,  Am.  and  W.  Ind.,  Vol.  186,  p.  33). 


346  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

on  the  ground,  and  the  other,  somewhat  smaller,  to  sur 
round  Colonel  Christie's  fine  stone  house  a  few  hundred 
yards  to  the  north;  and  the  two  were  connected  by  a 
strong,  close  palisade.  A  ditch  seven  feet  deep,  with  a 
stockade  ten  or  twelve  feet  high  on  its  inner  side,  added 
greatly  to  the  strength  of  the  walls  on  three  fronts,  and 
in  some  places  pickets,  projecting  slightly  upward  from 
the  outer  base  of  the  walls, — 'Pointing  at  ones  Breast,'  as 
Captain  Baker  suggestively  described  them — made  any 
plan  to  storm  the  fort  look  extremely  unpromising;  while 
on  the  fourth  side  lay  the  river,  here  about  a  quarter  of 
a  mile  wide,  a  moat  that  seemed  to  render  much  fortifying 
unnecessary  there.  In  default  of  better  material  for  the 
walls,  the  engineer,  Captain  Marr,  had  used  the  very 
best, — earth,  which  the  enemy's  balls  would  pack  the 
harder;  and,  although  the  embrasures  were  quite  wide 
and  no  covered  casemates  could  be  added,  this  double 
redoubt,  well  garnished  with  cannon,  munitions,  and  food, 
strengthened  with  something  of  an  abatis  outside  the 
ditch,  and  supported  by  the  swampy  ground  beyond  that, 
which  extended 'to  very  near  the  fort,'  could  evidently 
make  a  stanch  and  stubborn  little  fight  of  it.12 

On  the  water  side  of  the  fort,  a  primitive  but  effective 
shipyard  was  kept  very  busy  constructing  a  fleet.  All 
the  ship-carpenters  within  reach  had  been  summoned, 
and  even  the  soldiers  had  been  ordered  to  help.  Captain 
Jenkins,  who  left  Quebec  the  latter  part  of  July,  saw  a 


1 2  §  Carleton  to  Preston,  Monday,  [June]  26,  [1775] :  Emmet  Coll.  Quebec 
letter  Oct.  i,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  925.  Baker  to  Sch.,  Aug.  10,  1775:  Dreer 
Coll.  Council:  Sparks  MSS.,  No.  66,  I.,  p.  19.  Anburey,  Travels,  I.,  p.  136. 
Uv  ,  Journal,  Nov.  21.  Carroll,  Journal,  p.  89.  Richardson:  Pub.  Rec.  Off., 
Am.  and  W.  I.,  Vol.  186,  p.  33.  Carl,  to  Dart., Nov.  5,  1775:  Pub.  Rec.  Off., 
Colon.  Corres.,  Quebec,  u,  p.  445.  Hazen  to  Hancock,  Feb.  18,  1776:  4  Force, 
IV  1186  Foucher,  Journal:  Can.  Arch,  (separate).  Sch.  to  Wash.,  Sept. 
20,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  751.  Pell,  Diary:  Mag.  Am.  Hist.,  1878,  p.  43  (June  26). 
Bossing  Revol  I.,  p.  169.  Smyth,  Precis,  p.  109.  The  author  is  indebted  also 
to  Major  Channick,  in  command  at  St.  Johns,  1902.  According  to  LIV. 
(Journal),  the  connecting  palisade  and  a  covert  way  between  the  redoubts 
were  constructed  after  the  Americans  began  operations  on  the  east  side  of  the 
river.  Christie's  house  had  not  been  finished  (L,iv.).  See  Chap.  XI.,  Note  9. 


Sentiment  in  Canada  Now  347 

letter  from  a  sergeant  at  St.  Johns,  telling  his  wife  that 
he  was  hard  at  work  building  floating  batteries,  and  his 
'Cloaths'  had  not  been  off  his  back  for  a  fortnight.  In 
the  course  of  that  month,  Carleton  wrote  Admiral  Graves 
for  shipwrights  and  seamen  to  aid  in  the  work;  but  with 
out  success.  At  Halifax  he  found  some  hands ;  but  they 
arrived  on  the  scene  a  month  later  than  Schuyler,  as  the 
Governor  observed  with  a  touch  of  bitterness  ;  and  so  a 
tardiness  that  eclipsed  their  own  still  left  river  and  lake 
in  the  power  of  the  Colonials.13 

The  next  question  for  the  Governor  was,  what  further 
strength  he  could  secure  for  the  defence  of  the  colony. 

Needless  to  say,  the  prospect  of  immediate  invasion 
failed  to  alarm  the  radicals  among  the  British  population. 
No  help  could  the  Governor  expect  from  'the  damn'd 
rascals  of  Merchants/  as  Captain  Gamble  now  styled 
them.  Some  joined  the  Americans  openly  as  soon  as 
they  could,  and  Cramahe  wished  that  'all  of  them  inclined 
to  that  Cause,  had  done  the  same,'  for  those  who  stayed 
had  to  be  closely  watched.  An  English-American,  said 
one  of  that  class,  could  'neither  speak  nor  stir  without  its 
being  known.'  Walker's  health  was  bad,  and  he  spent 
some  time  out  of  town  ;  but  Price  and  others  did  not 
slumber.  There  was,  to  be  sure,  a  little  flurry  of  British 
zeal.  Before  the  Americans  reached  Nut  Island,  in 
visible  Indian  eyes  had  counted  their  bateaux,  and  the  next 
morning  a  courier  from  St.  Johns  gave  the  news  to 
Montreal.  A  general  alarm  sounded,  and  at  ten  o'clock 
three  or  four  hundred  men  assembled  in  the  Champ  de 
Mars.  The  next  day  a  messenger  brought  word  that  St. 
Johns  had  been  attacked.  Again  the  people  gathered; 

13  §  Quebec  letter,  Oct.  i,  1775:4  Force,  III.,  925.  Jenkins :  Boston  Gazette, 
Sept.,  ii,  i775.  Graves  to  Stephens,  Sept.  26,  1775:  Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Admirals' 
Despatches,  No.  Am.,  Vol.  486,  bundle  485.  Carleton  to  Dartmouth,  Nov.  5, 
1775:  Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Colon.  Corres.,  Quebec,  u,  p.  445. 


348  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

and  several  hours  were  passed  in  taking  names.  The 
British  merchants  agreed  to  watch  Market  Gate  ;  but 
somehow  all  the  flints  vanished  from  the  muskets  of  the 
guard  one  night,  and  no  one  could  say  who  carried  them 
off.  As  for  taking  up  arms  and  marching  to  St.  Johns, 
they  positively  refused.14 

The  temper  of  the  Canadians,  with  the  exception— as 
was  now  said — of  'the  Gentry,  Clergy,  and  most  of  the 
Bourgeoisie, '  grew  worse  instead  of  better.  Threats  were 
liberally  applied  under  the  proclamation  of  martial  law  ; 
but  plain  Jacques  could  see,  as  well  as  the  British  citizens, 
that  Carleton  'had  no  troops  at  hand  to  enforce  his 
authority  or  commands.'  Under  such  circumstances, 
attempts  to  drive  the  people  could  not  have  much  success, 
and  some  of  them  fell  flat  with  a  noise  that  reached  the 
Colonies.15 

South  of  Quebec,  for  instance,  in  the  valley  of  the 
Chaudiere,  reigned  a  spirited  young  lord,  best  known  to 
history  as  the  ancestor  of  a  cardinal  bearing  the  family 
name,  Taschereau.  Very  early  in  the  spring,  the  peasants 
had  reached  the  conclusion  and  announced  it,  that  when 
their  regular  dues  and  the  customary  '  compliments'  had 
been  paid  the  seigneur,  they  owed  him  nothing  further. 
Taschereau,  however,  clinging  to  the  old  feudal  powers  of 
his  class,  had  one  of  his  tenants  prosecuted  and  shut  up 
for  refusing  to  march  against  the  Provincials;  but  the 
affair  raised  such  a  swarm  of  hornets  about  his  ears  that 
he  begged  for  the  man's  release,  and  made  no  further 
experiments  of  the  kind. 

Another  of  these   conflicts  became  still  more  famous. 

I*  §  Gamble  to  Shirreff,  Quebec,  Sept.  6,  1775:  Boston  Gazette,  Oct.  9,  1775. 
Cramaheto  Dartmouth,  Sept.  21,  1775:  Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Colon.  Corres.,  Quebec, 
it,  p.  397.  Quebec  letter,  Sept.  17,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  726.  Verreau,  Invasion, 
pp.  42  (Sanguinet);  309  (Benoist).  Precis  of  Oper. 

is  §Cramahe:  Note  14.  Better  quoted  by  Maseres:  Add.  Papers,  p.  107. 
K.  g.,  report  that  3000  had  risen,  p.  305. 


The  Peasants  Rebellious  351 

Young  La  Corne,  a  nephew  of  St.  Luc,  received  a  com 
mission  to  enroll  the  people  of  Terrebonne,  a  village 
belonging  to  his  seigneury.  Naturally  enough  he  sang  a 
high  note,  and  said  that  by  the  tenure  of  their  lands  it 
was  his  right  to  command  their  military  services. 

'We  are  now  subjects  of  England,'  they  replied,  'and 
do  not  look  upon  ourselves  as  Frenchmen.' 

La  Corne,  boiling  with  rage,  struck  some  of  the  nearest 
and  most  outspoken  ;  and  the  consequence  was  that  he 
found  it  advisable  to  go  back  to  Montreal, — and  to  go  by 
the  quickest  way.  To  cover  his  retreat,  he  threatened  he 
would  return  with  two  hundred  soldiers  and  make  the  people 
smart;  but,  on  hearing  of  this,  all  the  villagers,  instead 
of  purchasing  sackcloth,  armed  themselves  with  guns 
and  clubs,  vowing  to  die  rather  than  submit  to  La  Corne, 
and  finally  General  Carleton,  learning  of  the  trouble, 
sent  Captain  Hamilton,  soon  to  be  the  Lieutenant- 
Governor  of  Detroit,  to  settle  matters. 

'What  do  you  mean  by  assembling  in  this  riotous, 
disorderly  manner?  '  he  asked  the  angry  peasants. 

'We  mean  to  defend  ourselves  against  the  soldiers 
whom  our  Seigneur,  Monsieur  La  Corne,  threatens  to 
send  against  us,'  they  answered  hotly;  and  then,  with 
French  tact,  they  added,  'If  General  Carleton  requires 
our  services,  let  him  give  us  Englishmen  to  lead  us. 
Such  a  man  as  you,  for  instance,  we  would  follow  to  the 
world's  end.' 

'  But,'  returned  the  Captain,  'enough  English  military 
gentlemen  to  command  you  are  not  to  be  found  in  the 
province.' 

'  Then,'  said  they,  'give  us  common  soldiers  to  lead  us, 
rather  than  those  people  ;.  for  (pointing  to  young  La 
Corne,  who  stood  by)  we  will  not  be  commanded  by  this 
little  fellow  (ce  petit  gars}.' 

People  as  clever  as  these  could  see  quite  well  the  impossi- 


352   Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

bility  of  what  they  proposed.  But  it  sounded  well,  and 
Hamilton  promised  that  La  Come  should  not  disturb 
them.  'The  Seegneurs  have  no  influence,'  lamented 
Captain  Gamble,  too  gloomy  just  then  to  swear.16 

A  third  case  was  even  more  significant.  Monsieur 
Cuthbert,  the  seigneur  of  Berthier,  summoned  his  tenants 
to  his  mansion  ;  but  they  merely  sent  word  in  reply  that, 
if  he  desired  to  see  them,  he  might  come  to  the  cross-roads, 
where  they  were.  This  he  did,  finally,  and  made  a  peremp 
tory  demand  for  their  military  services  according  to  the 
feudal  system.  Not  a  man  will  follow  you,  they  replied. 
As  nothing  could  move  them,  Cuthbert  at  length  went 
home;  and  immediately  the  habitants  took  an  oath,  by  the 
high  cross  that  stood  near,  never  to  bear  arms  against 
the  Provincials,  to  burn  the  house  and  barn  and  kill  the 
stock  of  every  one  offering  to  do  it,  and  to  meet  force 
with  force,  in  case  the  Governor  should  try  to  coerce 
them.17 

When  August  was  approaching,  a  gentleman  at  Quebec 
still  hoped  that  the  peasants  would  finally  'take  Arms  in 
favr  of  Government ' ;  but  probably  the  hope  did  not  live  to 
see  another  month  draw  nigh.  '  So  lately  as  the  iyth  of 
July,'  reported  an  English  gentleman  to  Maseres,  Carle- 
ton  had  been  unable  to  raise  any  force  of  them.  'Would 
you  believe  it  my  good  Friend  there  is  not  yet  a  single 
Canadian  raized,'  said  Gamble  at  Quebec  three  days  later; 
'the  most  violent  of  them  only  talk  of  defending  their  own 
Province.'  By  the  middle  of  August,  Carleton  decided  it 
would  not  be  wise  '  to  attempt  assembling  any  number 
of  them,'  unless  it  should  become  'absolutely  necessary' 
to  risk  that  step.  A  hundred  acres  of  land  in  the  Colo- 


16  §Tasch.  and  La  C.  Verreau,  Invasion,  pp.38,  372  ;  4  Force,  III.,  925. 
Maseres,  Add.  Papers,  pp.  72,  105.  For  Hamilton:  Can.  Arch.,  QA,  12,  p.  151- 
[Gamble],  July  20,  1775:  Can.  Arch.,  B,  20,  p.  8. 

1 1  Maseres,  Add.  Papers,  p.  76. 


The  Peasants  Rebellious 


353 


nies  were  offered  volunteers ;  but,  said  James  Livingston 
in  capitals,  'The  Proposition  was  heard  with  Disdain,' 
and  it  certainly  had  no  effect.18 

During  the  latter  part  of  August,  the  Quebec  Gazette 
published  the  address  of  'An  English  Farmer,'  to  the 
'People  of  Canada,'  which  painted  the  Colonial  troops  as 
an  'undisciplined  and  disorderly  though  armed  and 
numerous  rabble,'  the  leaders  as  'men  of  restless  and 
turbulent  spirits,  by  nature  foes  to  peace,'  and  the  inferior 
officers  as  *  chiefly  needy  desperate  villains,  whose  for 
tunes  could  only  be  bettered  by  public  calamity  and  the 
subversion  of  the 
state.'  'Sundry  and 
terrible  false  alarms 
were  spread,'  as  a 
British-Canadian  put 
it.  For  one  instance, 
papers  from  Schuyler 
found  in  Baker's 
pockets  ordered  no 
quarter  given — thus 
friends  of  the  govern 
ment  averred — to  Ca 
nadians  or  Indians; 
but  a  gentleman  wrote 
from  Quebec,  'There 
is  no  persuading  the 
country  people  here  of 
their  danger.'  '  In-  AJ  CAUQHNAWAGA  1N  1903 

stantly     take     arms,' 

cried  the  English  Farmer,  'and  rescue  the  name  of  Ca 
nadian  from   being  synonymous  with  those    of  Coward 


18  §  [Gamble]:  Note  16.     Maseres:  Note  3.     Carleton  to  Dartmouth,    Aug. 
14,    1775:     Note  9.     J.  I,iv.    to   Sch.,  Aug.    — ,    1775  :    Emmet    Coll.      Effect: 
Instit.  Canad.,  Centenaire,  p.  29;  Quebec  letter,  Oct.  i,  1775  (4  Force,  III.,  924). 
VOL.  i.— 23. 


354  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

and  Tray  tor! '  Yet  the  people  smoked  their  pipes  as  tran 
quilly  as  before.19 

Clever  stories  were  circulated  about  the  capital  that 
more  men  had  enlisted  in  the  parishes  above  than  could 
be  furnished  with  arms;  but  they  passed  as  so  much  air 
in  motion.  Mrs.  Carleton  presented  a  flag  to  the  French 
militia;  yet  even  such  an  appeal  to  their  proverbial 
gallantry  did  not  rouse  men.  'The  Canadians  wont  fire 
a  shot,'  thought  Captain  Gamble  by  the  first  week  in 
September;  and  so,  he  wrote,  thought  people  generally. 
After  a  fortnight  more,  Cramahe  wailed  to  Lord  Dart 
mouth:  'No  means  have  been  left  untried,  .  .  .  but  all 
to  no  purpose.'20 

Hurrying  from  Quebec  (September  7)  on  the  news  of 
Schuyler's  approach,  Carleton,  chagrined  by  his  vain 
efforts  to  raise  troops  along  the  road,  passed  a  night  at 
Three  Rivers  with  Tonnancour,  a  local  magnate;  and 
Tonnancour,  in  honor  of  his  guest,  had  an  armed  faction- 
naire  march  up  and  down  in  front  of  the  house. 

'What  is  that  man  doing?'  inquired  the  Governor, 
observing  him  curiously  from  the  window. 

'Sir,  he  is  a  sentinel,'  replied  his  host. 

At  once  Carleton  stepped  out,  called  the  fellow,  and 
thrust  a  guinea  into  his  hand. 

'Here,'  said  he,  'is  the  first  Canadian  whom  I  have  had 
the  honor  of  finding  in  arms.'21 

Still  more  astonishing,  still  more  depressing,  the  very 
crosier  of  the  Bishop  ceased,  as  the  weeks  passed,  to 
command  respect.  Briand's  consecration  to  the  office  had 
naturally  been  French  as  well  as  'popish,'  and  it  had  not 


19  §  Quebec  Gazette,  Aug.  17,  1775.    Alarms-.    Quebec  letter,  Oct.  i,  1775  (4 
Force,  III.,  925)  ;  Quebec  Gazette,  Sept.  21.    Letter,  Aug.  20:  4   Force,  III.,  211. 

20  §  Quebec  letter,  Oct.   i,   1775:  Note  19.     Flag:    see  label   attached  to  a 
portion  of  it,  Chateau  de  Ramezay,  Montreal.     Gamble  to  Gage,  Sept.  6,  1775: 
Boston  Gazette,  Oct.  9,  1775.     Cramahe:  Note  14. 

"i  Verreau  (Badeaux),  Invasion,  p.  165. 


The  Bishop  Disregarded  355 

proved  easy,  apparently,  to  obtain  British  authorization  to 
officiate.  Indeed,  such  permisson  as  he  secured  was  only 
tacit,  and  for  this  reason,  perhaps,  he  began  his  labors 
with  great  humility.  When  received  in  the  old  style,  he 
said:  'I  have  not  come  into  the  province  to  be  a  bishop 
on  the  high  footing  of  my  predecessors  in  the  time  of  the 
French  government;  and  therefore  I  am  not  entitled,  and 
do  not  desire,  to  be  treated  with  the  ceremony  and  respect 
used  towards  them  ;  I  am  a  simple  ordainer  of  priests 
(un  simple  faiseur  de pretres}.'  And  for  a  month  or  two, 
instead  of  donning  a  purple  robe  and  wearing  a  cross  of 
gold  at  his  breast,  he  put  on  the  common  black  gown  of 
the  cures.  So  now,  as  the  thunders  of  his  warlike 
mandement  reverberated  over  their  heads,  people  recalled 
his  former  modesty  by  way  of  contrast.22 

'How  long  since,'  they  exclaimed,  '  was  our  Bishop 
made  the  General  of  the  country?  I^et  him  confine  him 
self  to  his  proper  work.  L,et  him  give  us  priests,  and 
guide  us  by  the  example  of  his  conduct.  Let  him  show 
more  gentleness  and  less  ambition.  Ill  becomes  it  a 
bishop  to  preach  the  shedding  of  blood.  Plainly,  he  is 
making  religion  a  game,' 

Though  it  was  understood  that  recusants  would  be 
denied  absolution,  and  indulgences  be  lavished  upon  the 
obedient,  the  general  sentiment  of  the  fields  rose— accord 
ing  to  careful  observers — into  the  cry,  'We  despise  his 
orders,  and  march  we  will  not.'  Simple  peasants,  with 
no  thought  of  giving  up  their  faith,  began  to  reason 
shrewdly  about  the  line  between  spiritual  and  secular 
authority,  and  even  the  sceptical  and  mocking  found 
plenty  of  listeners.  More  than  thirty  songs  and  fifty 
placards,  it  was  alleged,  served  up  the  'cupidity,  extrava- 

2  2  S  The  documents  relating  to  Briand  are  given  by  Maseres :  Add.  Papers, 
pp.  112,  113,  125,  138,  etc.  Tacit:  Haldimand  to  Germain,  Oct.  25,  1780  (Can. 
Arch.,  B,  54,  p.  339). 


356  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

gance  and  ambition'  of  the  prelate  in  all  styles  of  carv 
ing.  Not  long  before,  according  to  common  report,  a 
pension  of  £200  a  year  had  been  given  him  by  the 
Administration;  and  now  the  wits  never  tired  of  hinting 
that,  besides  wishing  to  prove  his  gratitude,  he  desired 
to  earn  an  increase  of  the  stipend.  One  of  them 
sang: 

*  Friends,  to  arms  !     The  Bishop  calls  ; 

Let  us  do  his  pious  job  ! 
Boston,— just  a  promenade  ! 

'T  won't  take  long  to  quell  that  rnob. 

'  Not  a  doubt  that  we  shall  win  ; 

Sure  the  triumph  that  he  paints  ; 
They  ignore  our  holy  feasts, 

And  they  worship  not  our  saints. 

'Plenary  indulgences 

Will  ensure  our  seats  on  high, 
If  we  back  his  politics, 
And  as  good  fanatics  die. 

'Then  let  's  die,  so  dear  Briand — 

Clever  head  he  wears— may  get 
From  our  courage  and  our  blood 
Bigger  gifts  and  pensions  yet.' 23 

The  Indians,  then.  What  a  'present'  for  their  barbaric 
lordships  was  invoiced  from  England,  August  the  eighth, 
by  the  ship  Elizabeth!  Hundreds  of  proved  fowling- 
pieces,  with  blue  barrels,  walnut  stocks,  trimmings  of 
wrought  brass,  and  silver  sights,  and  hundreds  more 
almost  as  fine;  a  large  stock  of  'neat  bright  Indian 
Hatchets,  with  steel  Pipes';  Indian  brass  kettles  in 
quantity;  'Rich,  broad  gold  laced  Hatts';  'broad  tincel'd 


2  3  The  original  (in  French,  of  course)  contains  ten  stanzas,  to  the  tune  of 
'Belle  Brune,  que  j'  adore.' 


The  Indians  Neutral  357 

laced  ditto';  ruffled  shirts;  best  glazed  pipes;  'Duffil' 
great-coats ;  barrels  and  kegs  of  lead  bullets  :  barrels  and 
barrels  of  gunpowder;  pots  of  azure  blue,  rose  color, 
yellow  and  'genuine  Vermillion,'— all  these,  with  number 
less  other  items,  made  up  a  dazzling  shipment  valued  at 
2,541  pounds,  nineteen  shillings,  and  tenpence,  the  per 
suasive  effect  of  which  could  not  be  doubted.24 

But,  during  the  long  battle  of  the  Elizabeth  with 
Atlantic  waves,  Indian  affairs  came  to  a  head. 

While  the  savages  lingered  near  Montreal  in  sulky 
idleness,  visitors  plied  them  vigorously  with  arguments 
against  fighting  for  the  British,  and  the  Canadians  made 
plain  their  own  attitude.  At  the  time  of  Schuyler's  first 
visit  at  St.  Johns,  Major  Preston,  the  British  commander 
there,  ignorant  of  Schuyler's  numbers  and  very  likely 
dreading  an  attack  from  the  habitants,  did  not  think  it 
wise  to  leave  the  still  unfinished  works  and  salty  into 
the  woods.  For  that  reason,  the  party  of  savages  who 
attacked  the  Americans,  receiving  no  support  from  the 
regulars,  were  defeated;  and  they  murmured  aloud.  At 
the  second  visit,  the  Iroquois  interpreter  fell.  Upon  that, 
moved  by  one  of  their  sudden  impulses,  they  all  quit  the 
fort  within  an  hour,  and  even  Lorimier  could  not  entice 
one  of  them  back.  Some  of  the  feather-pated  French 
nobles,  accustomed  to  lord  it  over  Indians  as  well  as 
peasants,  were  silly  enough  to  strut  about  their  camp 
and  openly  show  resentment  at  the  slight  deference  paid 
their  gentility.  Threatened  by  the  Colonials,  ignored  by 
the  Governor,  discouraged  by  the  Canadians,  abandoned 
to  death  by  the  regulars,  and  insulted  by  the  lordly  allies 
of  the  government,  they  complained  bitterly  to  Claus,  and 
Colonel  Johnson  began  to  feel  that  'they  could  no  longer 
be  depended  on.'  Councils  were  held  in  the  hope  of 


24  Invoice:  Can.  Arch.,  Q,  n,  p.  210. 


358  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

reassuring  their  minds,  and  the  Governor  thanked  them 
in  general  orders  for  the  gallantry  shown  at  St.  Johns; 
but  the  cloud  of  sullen  discontent  did  not  roll  away.25 

Meanwhile,  the  deputies  appointed  by  the  Albany 
council  to  visit  the  Canadian  tribes  made  their  way  to 
Nut  Island,  got  money,  provisions,  and  a  flag  of  truce 
from  Schuyler,  and  then  (September  10)  pressed  on 
through  the  woods  for  Caughnawaga.26 

Seven  or  eight  miles  from  their  destination,  about  a 
hundred  warriors,  representing  several  tribes,  encountered 
them.  Johnson  had  at  length  induced  that  number  to 
march  for  St.  Johns;  but,  on  learning  the  message  of  the 
deputies,  the  majority  of  the  war-party  decided  that  all 
should  return  to  Caughnawaga.  Two  runners  hurried  to 
notify  the  town;  and  so  high  rose  the  excitement  there, 
that  men  on  horseback  dashed  out,  met  the  deputies  two 
miles  away,  demanded  eagerly  whether  the  reports  of 
their  mission  were  true,  and  galloped  back  at  full  speed. 
At  the  Castle  a  chief  received  them,  took  their  white  flag, 
and  led  them  to  the  council-house.  Warriors  of  all  the 
tribes  had  already  gathered;  and,  after  allowing  the 
visitors  to  rest  awhile,  they  listened  attentively  to  a  report 
of  the  Albany  meeting. 

'We  thank  you  heartily,'  was  their  response  on  its  con 
clusion;  'we  are  now  convinced  that  Guy  Johnson  has  told 
us  nothing  but  lies.' 

An  agent  of  Johnson's  happened  to  be  on  the  ground  ; 
and,  seeing  how  matters  looked,  he  disguised  himself  and 


25  §  Precis  ofOper.  G.  Johnson  to  Dartmouth,  Oct.  12,  1775:  Pub.  Rec.  Ofi., 
Am.  and  W.  I.,  Vol.  279,  p.  345.    Ind.  Trans. :  ib.,  Vol.  280,  p.  9.  Verreau,  Invasion, 

?.  44   (Sanguinet)  ;    p.    247   (L,orimier).     B.  Allen   wrote   Sch.,  Sept.  8   (Sch. 
apers)  that  the  Indians  charged  their  slain  against  the  British,  because  the 
British  had  dragged  them  into  the  war.      Cramah£  to  Dartmouth,  Sept.  ai, 
1775:  Bancroft  Coll.,  Eng.  and  Am.,  Aug.,  i775-Dec.,  1776,  p.  81.    Unfinished, 
etc. :  Claus  in  No.  Am.  Notes  and  Q.,  I.,  i,  p.  24. 

26  §  Reports,  Sept.  24,  30,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  798,  1275.    Better  from  Albany, 
Sept.  5,  1775:  ib.,   630.     Sch.   to  Wash.,  Sept.  20,  1775:  ib.,  751.      Claus,  letter: 
No.  Am.  Notes  and  Q.,  I.,  i,  p.  24.    Sch.,  Ledger. 


The  Indians  Neutral  359 

hurried  to  the  Colonel.  The  consequences  were  a  visit 
from  Claus  and  the  famous  Brant,  strings  of  the  precious 
black  wampum,  and  a  proposal  that  the  deputies  call 
upon  the  Indian  Superintendent. 

'Do  not  go,'  urged  the  Caughnawagas,  'lest  you  be 
served  like  the  Stockbridges.' 

'We  were  not  sent  to  Colonel  Johnson,  but  to  the 
Caughnawagas' ,  the  deputies  answered  Claus  bluntly,  and 
the  wampum  was  given  back. 

'  It  is  over  with  Johnson,'  cried  Brant  ;  all  the  Indians 
will  quit  him' ;  but  he  only  worked  the  harder. 

For  a  moment,  Caughnawaga  was  the  storm-centre  of 
the  continent.  Greater  and  greater  still  became  the  com 
motion  there.  Never  had  the  Castle  been  so  shaken  before. 
Johnson  and  his  lieutenants  did  their  utmost. 

'Those  beggarly  miscreants,'  they  urged,  'wont  give  you 
Indians  anything, — they  've  nothing  to  give.' 

Father  de  Terlaye  brought  the  terrors  of  the  church  to 
bear.  Reports  came  that  Johnson  intended  to  seize  the 
deputies.  The  lion's  paw  so  greatly  dreaded  was  near; 
the  claws  of  steel  could  be  seen.  But  the  word  from 
Albany,  aided  by  warnings  from  the  American  general, 
could  not  be  gainsaid,  and  at  last  the  victory  of  the  Colo 
nials  was  complete.  Seven  chiefs  and  warriors  proceeded 
with  the  deputies  to  the  American  army,  and  there  held 
a  formal  'congress.'  After  gently  chiding  them  for  taking 
part  in  a  dispute  that  did  not  concern  them,  Montgomery 
said: 

'I  do  not  ask  your  help,  and  the  King  cannot  need  it; 
therefore  stand  on  one  side,  so  that  no  Indian  blood  may 
be  spilled.' 

In  reply  the  visitors,  thanking  him  for  the  speech 
and  still  more  for  the  offer  of  ^400  (York),  presented  a 
belt,  and  promised  they  'would  not  take  a  gun  in  hand' 
against  him.  'The  Indians  yesterday  made  their  peace,' 


360  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 


wrote  Carleton  gloomily  on  the  sixteenth  of  September. 

That,  of  course,  did  not  mean  the  total  elimination  of 

them.  In  fact,  by  and  by  some  of  them  were  to  deal 
a  very  keen  blow.  But  when,  a  few 
days  later,  they  received  the  cash  from 
Montgomery,  their  piquant  and  me 
nacing  presence,  as  an  organized  and 
formidable  power,  vanished  from  our 
stage.27 

Only  one  possible  source  of  help  for 
Carleton  remained, —  the  government. 
On  the  first  of  July,  the  Earl  of  Dart 
mouth  had  written  that  many  con 
siderations  encouraged  the  idea  of 
having  'as  respectable  a  Force  as  possi 
ble  in  the  Province  of  Quebec.'  Gage, 
also,  believed  in  maintaining  an  ade 
quate  body  of  troops  there;  and  it  looked 
almost  certain  that  his  opinion — which 
was  made  known  to  Carleton — would 
take  shape  in  men.  Besides,  with 
British  transports  furrowing  the  sea  in 
all  directions,  it  even  seemed  as  if  a 
regiment  or  two  might  drop  in  almost 
any  day  by  chance,  like  Hunter  and  the 
GaspS.  But  the  Governor  bent  his  gaze 
toward  the  Island  of  Orleans  in  vain : 
no  streaming  pennant  sailed  out  from 
behind  the  green  heights.  Only  the 
'rebels'  appeared  to  befriend  him;  for 
Schuyler's  long  waiting  made  Hey  and 

many  others  believe  that  all  the  plans  of  invasion  had  been 


27§Reports:  4  Force,  III.,  798,  1275.  Motitg.  to  Sch.,  Sept.  19,  1775: 
A  Force  III  707.  Claus:  No.  Amer.  Notes  and  Queries,  I.,  i,  p.  24.  Perlayeto 
Claus,  Sept.  16,  1775:  Can.  Arch.,  M,  104,  p.  204.  Carleton  to  Gage,  Sept.  16, 


Carleton's  Desperate  Plight  361 

'suspended,  if  not  wholly  abandoned.'     And  finally,  even 
this  reliance  failed.     The  Colonials  moved  north.28 

'I  hold  myself  in  readiness  to  embark  for  England 
where  I  possibly  may  be  of  some  use,'  moaned  Hey,  fully 
satisfied  now  that  '  moderate  and  reasonable  means  of 
Retirement '  would  be  better  than  '  the  first  office  of 
distinction  or  Profit'  in  the  gift  of  the  Crown.  Carleton 
saw  the  reality  with  no  less  clearness  than  his  Chief- 
Justice.  'I  seem  abandoned  by  all  the  Earth,'  he  wrote 
Gage;  '  we  are  on  the  Eve  of  being  overrun  and  subdued  ' ; 
but  none  the  less  he  went  firmly  on  to  meet  the  foe.29 

And  now,  at  last,  the  foe  went  firmly  on  to  meet  him. 
Wretched  indeed  was  the  plight  of  the  poor  American 
army  at  Nut  Island,  when  the  burden  of  it  fell  upon 
Montgomery.  Not  only  had  mortification,  distrust,  and 
fearsomeness  paralyzed  enthusiasm,  but  '  upwards  of  six 
hundred  sick  '  were  reported  on  the  twelfth  of  September, 
and  those  who  kept  about  felt  borne  down  by  the  dis 
heartening  dead  weight  of  malaria.  Several  cold,  rainy 
days  ensued.  Nothing  to  eat  but  flour  and  pork,  grum 
bled  the  soldiers.  Fresh  orders  to  advance,  given  out  on 
the  thirteenth,  were  followed  by  a  heavy  storm,  and  bore 
no  fruit  save  mildewed  hopes.  On  the  fifteenth,  a  council 
of  war  met  and  discussed  the  situation  in  the  wan  light 
of  the  facts.  But,  while  the  officers  were  sitting  in  the 
gloom,  a  note  arrived  from  James  Livingston.  Happily 

i77S-  Pub  Rec.  Off.,  Am.  and  W.  I.,  Vol.  130,  p.  673.  Id.  to  Dartmouth  Sept. 
21  1775:  Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Colon.  Corres.,  Quebec,  n,  p.  421-  Present:  Monte,  to 
Bedel,  Sept.  20,  1775  (Myers  Coll.);  Id.  to  Sen.,  Sept  24  1775  U  Force,  III., 
84o)  ;  Hancock  to  Sen.,  Oct.  12,  1775  (Am.  Antiq.  Soc  ).  x  Mott  to  Trum- 
bull,  Oct.  6,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  972.  Sch.  to  Hancock,  Sept.  25,  29,  177- ;:  ib., 
796,839.  Oriet  (in  Tryon's  of  Nov.  n,  1775)-  Pub.  Rec-  off-<  Am-  and  w-  L* 
Vol.  185,  p.  693. 

28  §  Dartmouth  to  Gage,  July  i,  1775  :  Pub.  Rec.  Off     Am.  and  VV.  I.,  Vol. 
130  P   343       Gage  to  Dartmouth,  June  12,  1775:  Bancroft  Coll.,  Eng.  and  Am., 
Jan.-Aug.,  1775,  p.  275.    Dartmouth  to  Carleton,  July  24,  1775:  Pub.  Rec.  Off.v 
Colon.  Corres.,  Quebec,  n,  p.  279. 

29  §  Hey  to  Chancellor,  Aug.  28  ;  Sept.  u,   17,  1775:  Pub.  Rec.  Off,  Colon. 
Corres  ,  Quebec,  12,  p.  365.      Carleton  to  Gage,  Sept.  16,  1775:  Pub.  Rec.    Ott.» 
Am.  andW.  I.,  Vol.  130,  p.  673. 


362   Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

prevented  by  the  British  fort  from  learning  the  truth 
about  the  invading  force,  he  had  '  begun  a  war '  of  his 
own,  and,  aided  by  Jeremiah  Dugan,  an  Irish  neighbor 
engaged  in  the  same  business,  had  stirred  up  the  habit 
ants  about  Chambly  not  a  little.  Two  bateaux  loaded 
with  provisions  for  St.  Johns  had  been  captured,  ten  or 
twelve  regulars  put  out  of  action,  and  some  prisoners 
taken.  Come  on  at  once,  was  the  burden  of  his  message; 
and  he  declared  he  could  raise  a  force  of  three  thousand 
Canadians.  Immediately  the  scale-beam  of  the  council 
paused  and  hesitatingly  reversed  its  dip.  Colonel  Water- 
bury  and  three  hundred  and  twenty  men  concluded  to 
embark — none  too  cheerfully — on  the  water-craft  for  a  try 
at  the  dreaded  schooner ;  and,  after  dark,  Major  Brown, 
with  one  hundred  Americans  and  thirty  or  forty  Cana 
dians,  left  the  island  for  Chatnbly .  Nobody  knew  it  then, 
but  the  tide  had  at  last  really  turned.30 

Some  reinforcements  now  brought  fresh  courage  from 
the  south.  Henry  B.  Livingston's  hatless,  shirtless,  and 
shoeless  company  arrived,  '  nearly  complete.'  One  hun 
dred  and  seventy  Green  Mountain  Boys  appeared  on 
the  sixteenth,  with  another  company  of  the  same  corps 
(raised,  however,  in  Connecticut)  pressing  after  them. 
An  efficient  artillery  force— 'indispensably  necessary,'  as 
General  Schuyler  said — was  leaving  Ticonderoga  under 
sturdy  Captain  Lamb  of  New  York.  Hasten' s  two 
hundred,  with  about  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  of  the 
First  Yorkers,  were  to  embark  within  a  few  days  ;  and 
nearly  three  hundred  of  the  Third  Yorkers  only  waited 


so  §  Sch.  to  Hancock,  Sept.  19,  1775:  4  Force,  III .,  738.  Orders,  Sept.  13: 
ib  ,  742.  Barlow,  Journal.  Trumbull,  Journal.  J.  lyiv.  to  Sch.  (undated): 
4  Force,  III.,  743.  Letter  to  N.  Y.,  Sept.  16,  1775:  ib.,  723.  Montg.  to  Sch., 
Sept.  19,  1775:  ib.,  797.  Dugan:  Cramah6  to  Dartmouth,  Sept.  24,  1775  (Pub. 
Rec.  Oft.,  Colon.  Corres..  Quebec,  n,  p.  405);  Foucher,  Journal,  Oct.  3  ;  Robbins, 
Journal,  May  3.  He  had  been  a  barber  at  Quebec  ( Ainslie,  Journal,  Dec.  4)  and 
then  a  wheat  merchant  (none  too  successful)  at  St.  Ours  on  the  Richelieu  below 
Chambly.  REMARK  XXI. 


**s 

4&ORNAJL 


American  Reinforcements 


363 


for  shipping.  Meanwhile,  Schuyler  himself,  already 
*  much  better '  though  still  'feeble,'  lost  none  of  his  good 
will;  and,  with  one  eye  still  on  the  chances  of  repulse, 
kept  the  other  open,  as  well  as  he  could,  to  the  urgent 
need  of  men  and  supplies.31 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTIONARY   ARMS 

A  sword  worn  at   Bunker  Hill ;  a  pistol  owned  by  Washington  ; 
a  powder-horn;  a  bullet-mould 

New  Hampshire,  also,  appeared  now  on  the  scene. 
Few  districts  on  the  frontier  lay  closer  to  danger  from 

3i  §Sch.  to  Wash.,  Sept.  20,  1775:  a  Force,  III.,  751.  (He  states  that  on 
Sept.  10  there  were  1394  effectives  at  Nut  Island.)  G.  M.  B.  •  '  Montgomery's' 
Ord  Book,  Sept.  16  ;  Sch.  to  N.  Y.  Cong.,  Aug.  23,  1775  (4  Force,  III.,  L); 
N.  Y.  Cong.,  Sept.  i,  i775  (ib.,  57o);  Hall,  Vt.,  p.  214.  jamb's  Co. :  4  Force  III 

525,  563- 


364  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

Canada  than  Haverhill  and  its  neighborhood,  the  centre 
of  population  on  the  upper  Connecticut;  and  so  anxious 
had  the  people  been,  that  men  in  Bath  who  owned  no  guns 
had  carried  cornstalks  on  their  shoulders  to  deceive  the 
spies  from  Canada.  To  protect  the  settlements,  three 
companies  of  rangers  were  organized.  Then,  as  the 
successes  at  the  lakes  had  ended  the  danger  of  invasion 
and  Washington  did  not  need  their  aid,  the  Colony 
offered  them  to  Schuyler.  'Ablebodied,  stout,  active 
fellows,  used  to  the  woods,  capable  of  any  duty,  and  hav 
ing  an  acquaintance  with  Canada,'  these  men  were 
pictured.  'Very  welcome,'  the  corps  would  be,  said 
Montgomery;  and  it  was  directed  to  strike  across  from 
the  Connecticut  to  Lake  Champlain  and  Nut  Island  at 
once.32  . 

Colonel  Timothy  Bedel  of  Bath  commanded  these  ran 
gers,  and  an  interesting  figure  was  he.  'A  person  of  great 
experience  in  war,'  the  New  Hampshire  Committee  of 
Safety  described  him33;  but  that  concise  phrase  omitted, 
no  doubt,  much  of  really  equal  significance. 

His  name,  occasionally  written  Bedle,  was  apparently 
pronounced  that  way  by  some,  at  least,  in  his  time  ;  and 
perhaps  that  was  not  wholly  inappropriate.  The  beadle 
has  usually  been  thought  of  as  an  impressive  personage: 
not  without  substantial  importance,  though  sometimes  less 
important  to  others  than  to  himself ;  possibly  not  of  the 
rarest  porcelain,  but  well  able  to  fill  a  large  part  of  a 
somewhat  narrow  circle. 

The  Colonel  must  have  had  a  broad  figure  and  a  broad 


3  2  §  Bettinger,  Haverhill,  p.  165.  Cornstalks:  Wells,  Newbury,  p.  75. 
Orders  to  Bedel,  July  7  ;  Aug.  29,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  1767  ;  N.  H.  State  Papers, 
XVII.,  p.  16.  Wash,  to  Sch.,  July  27,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  1736.  Sullivan  to  bch., 
Aug  s  1775:  Sparks  MSS.,  No.  60,  p.  2.  N.  H.  Com.  Safety,  Aug.  7,  1775:  N.  H. 
Hist  Soc  Coll.,  VI  ,  p.  15.'  Id.  to  Sch.  and  to  Bedel,  Aug.  7,  1775:  4  Force, 
III.,  60.  Montg.  to  N.  H.  Com.  Safety,  Aug.  IQ,  177-  :  ib.,  177-  Id.  to  Bedel,  Aug. 
19,  1775:  Saffell,  Records,  p.  17.  Sch.  to  Bedel,  Aug.  31,177$:  i*>.,  P  I7- 
Batchellor,  Ranger  Service,  passim. 

33  N.  H  Com.  Safety  to  Sch.,  Aug.  7,  1775 :  4  Force,  III.,   60. 


Montgomery  Advances  365 

face,  unless  a  mistake  occurred  somewhere  ;  and  beyond  a 
doubt  he  preferred  to  wear  his  ample  hat  well  back  on  the 
after  portion  of  his  head.  Power  belonged  to  him,— a  sort 
of  power  more  promptly  recognized,  perhaps,  by  dogs, 
horses,  and  Indians  than  by  creatures  less  faithful  to 
their  instincts.  Physical  energy,  physical  good-nature,  and 
physical  intelligence  qualified  him  to  lead  at  the  border; 
and  his  practical  common  sense,  while  perhaps  it  now 
sank  into  craft,  now  rose  into  shrewdness.  Whether  or 
no  he  was  just  the  man  for  a  tight  pinch,  had  not  been 
decided  yet;  but  he  could  cut  a  wide  swath  in  good  grass, 
make  the  steel  ring  as  it  flew,  empty  more  dippers  of 
hard  cider  at  the  farther  end  of  the  field  than  anybody 
else  in  the  gang,  and,  in  telling  it  over  the  next  week, 
forget — though  without  prejudice  to  his  imagination — 
•exactly  how  much  ground  he  had  mowed.34 

Besides  these  three  companies  of  rangers,  who  gath 
ered  at  Coos,  an  '  Independent  Company  of  Volunteers  '  at 
Hanover,  including  some  students  of  Dartmouth  College, 
enlisted,  equipped  themselves,  and  marched  within  three 
days, —'a  most  noble  spirit  this,'  as  Colonel  Israel 
Morey  told  the  New  Hampshire  Committee  of  Safety. 
Boats  for  all  could  not  be  found.  Indeed,  it  was  not  easy 
to  obtain  any;  but  finally,  at  midnight  between  Septem 
ber  sixteenth  and  seventeenth,  in  the  glimmer  of  lanterns 
and  flare  of  torches,  the  first  of  the  New  Hampshire  men 
grounded  their  bateaux  on  the  soft  shore  of  Nut  Island, 
and  filed  to  their  places  in  the  slumbering  camp.  35 

By  this  time,  pluck  had  revived  there,  and  the  rein 
forcements,  not  yet  discouraged  by  steps  backward, 


3  4  §  Based  upon  the  documents  and  events  in  which  he  figures,— Frye 
Bayley's  Narrative  in  particular.  More  will  be  said  of  Bedel  and  of  this  docu 
ment  m  Chapter  XXXII.  Interesting  later  docs,  exist  in  the  Can.  Arch. 

35  §  Orford  letter,  Sept.  12,  i77S:  Boston  Gazette,  Oct.  2,  1775.  Morey  to 
N.  H.  Com.  Safety,  Sept.  12,  1775 :  4  Force,  III.,  6g7.  Hinman  to  Bedel,  Sept.  16, 
i775:  Emmet  Coll.  Wells,  Journal,  Aug.  si-Sept.  16. 


366  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

added  no  little  impetus.  'I  am  in  perfect  good  health,' 
wrote  a  New  York  officer  just  coming  over  the  lakes  at 
this  time,  'which  I  pray  God  to  continue  till  I  can  give  a 
good  account  of  that  Rascal  Carleton  and  his  bloody 
backs '  for  setting  Baker's  head  on  a  pole.  'A  parcel  of 
hearty  lads'  were  his  men;  and  he  felt  sure  they  were  not 
going  to  'turn  their  noses  from  the  smell  of  gunpowder.' 
On  the  seventeenth  of  September,  most  of  the  tents  were 
struck ;  and  that  evening  Montgomery  and  the  army— 
'resolved,'  wrote  Sergeant  Barlow,  'to  take  the  Fort  or  lose 
their  lives' — landed  for  the  third  time  at  St.  Johns, — 
Bedel,  in  spite  of  unwelcome  shells,  moving  on  to  the 
northern  breastwork  with  an  advance  guard.  '  Tomor 
row,'  wrote  another  officer,  'we  intend  to  strike  a  decisive 
blow.'36 

And  he  did  not  prove  so  bad  a  prophet,  Waterbury's 
plan  to  destroy  the  British  schooner  had  not  succeeded, 
and,  could  she  but  run  past  the  army  and  cut  its  line  of 
communication,  surrender  or  starvation  was  likely  to 
follow;  but  the  American  sloop  and  schooner,  two  ' row- 
galleys '  carrying  a  i2-pounder  each,  ten  bateaux  with 
picked  crews,  and  three  hundred  and  fifty  men,  all  told, 
were  appointed  to  prevent  this  at  any  cost.  Another 
body,  counting  two  hundred,  had  orders  to  guard  the 
boats  and  the  landing.  With  five  hundred  (New  Hamp 
shire  men,  Green  Mountain  Boys,  and  some  of  Hinman's 
corps)  Montgomery  cut  round  the  fort,  and  planted  this 
force  under  Bedel  on  the  northwest  side,  at  the  junction 
of  the  roads  from  Chambly  and  from  Montreal  to  St. 
Johns,  so  that  no  succor  could  reach  the  foe.  Parties 
took  post  at  Laprairie  and  L,ongueuil  (two  landings  on 

36  §  Revised:   Sch.  to   Wash.,   Sept.   20,  1775     (4  Force,  III.,  751)    N.  Y. 

Off.,  Sept.  14,  1775  (as  printed  in  Conn.  Courant):  ib.,  709.  Montg.  to    Sch., 

Sept  10,  1775-  ib.,  797.    Trumbull,  Journal.   Barlow,  Journal.  Safford,  Journal. 

Bedel  to  N.  H.  Com.  Safety,  Sept.  23,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  779.  Letter,  Sept.  17, 
i775:  ib-»  726- 


Richard  Montgomery  367 

the  St.  lyawrence,  the  first  above  and  the  other  just  below 
Montreal)  to  prevent  parties  of  the  enemy  from  harassing 
and  overawing  the  Canadians;  and  the  rest  of  the  soldiers — 
evidently  not  a  great  number:  say  six  hundred  at  first- 
undertook  to  besiege  the  fort.37 

'An  army,'  these  troops  have  been  called  for  want  of  a 
better  name ;  but  it  was  almost  an  army  without  men.  A 
leader,  however,  it  did  not  lack. 

Richard  Montgomery,  born  at  Con  way  House,  near 
Raphoe,  in  the  north  of  Ireland,  on  December  the  second, 
1736,  came  of  an  ancient  French  family.  His  father,  a 
baronet  and  at  one  time  a  member  of  Parliament,  gave 
him  a  good  education  at  Dublin  and,  before  he  quite 
reached  his  eighteenth  birthday,  an  ensign's  commission 
in  the  i7th  Foot.  The  next  year,  fortune  brought  him  to 
America;  and  in  1759,  by  a  still  more  singular  chance,  he 
served  under  Amherst  at  the  capture  of  Ticonderoga  and 
Crown  Point.  Three  years  later  found  him  a  captain;  but 
for  a  decade  he  gained  no  further  promotion.  During 
this  time  he  became  familiar  with  the  leaders  of  the 
Opposition  in  the  British  Parliament,  and  one  could 
hardly  avoid  suspecting  that  his  warm  espousal  of  their 
ideas  offended  the  Administration.  At  all  events,  he 
appeared  to  despair  of  his  future  in  the  army,  and  in  1772 
on  receiving  a  very  pointed  slight  he  resigned.38 

America  had  not  been  forgotten;  and  the  next  year  he 


3  ?  §  Waterbury's  failure  may  have  been  due  to  the  fact  that  the  schooner  had 
nets  to  prevent  boarding  (lyiv.,  Journal,  Oct.  14).  Sch.  to  Wash.,  Sept.  20, 
i775:  4  Force,  III.,  751.  Montg.  to  Sch.,  Sept.  19,  1775:  ib.,  797.  Ritzema, 
Journ.  Bedel  to  N.  H.  Corn.  Safety,  Sept.  23  :  4  Force,  III.,  779.  Id.  to  Montg., 
Sept.  28,  1775;  ib.,  954.  Montg.  to  Bedel,  Sept.  ^19,  1775:  Saffell,  Records,  p.  19. 
Trumbull,  Journal.  Barlow,  Journal.  H.  B.  L,iv.  to  —  —  ,  Oct.  6,  1775:  Mag. 
Am.  Hist.,  1889,  p.  256.  The  posts  on  the  St.  Lawrence  appear  to  have  been 
established  Sept.  20  and  21  :  Precis  of  Oper.;  Trumbull,  Journal,  Sept.  19^ 
21  ;  Ind.  Trans.  (Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Am.  and  W.  I.,  Vol.  280,  p.  9).  REMARK  XXIl'. 


38  §On  Montg.:  ~L,.  ~L,.  Hunt,  Biog.  Notes;  Harper's  Mag.,  LXX.,  p.  350; 
Culluni,  Biog.  Sketch  ;  LeMoine,  Maple  Leaves  (1834.)  ,  passim  ;  Pub.  Rec.  Off., 
MS.  Armvlyists  ;  Cannon,  Rec.  lyth  Regt.;  Doughty,  Siege,  II.,  p.  224  ;  N.  Y. 
Docs.  (Colon.  Hist.),  VIII.,  p.  665  ;  Smith,  Rhinebeck  ;  Warren,  Am.  Rev.,  I.,  p. 
266  ;  N.  Y.  Cong.,  June  7,  1775  (4  Force,  II.,  1282);  Journ.  Cong.,  June  22,  1775;, 
Montg.  to  R.  R.  lyiv.,  June  7,  1775  (I/iv.  Papers,  1775—1777,  P-  35)- 


368   Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

visited  our  shores  again,— this  time  not  as  a  soldier  but  as 
a  settler,  not  to  destroy  but  to  create.  First,  he  purchased 
an  estate  at  Kingsbridge,  close  to  New  York  City;  but, 
on  marrying  Janet,  sister  of  Chancellor  Livingston,  he 
removed  to  picturesque  Rhinebeck  on  the  Hudson. 
Allied  now  to  a  family  of  great  distinction  for  wealth, 
character,  ability,  and  social  influence,  he  could  not  avoid 
becoming  prominent  in  the  stirring  events  of  the  day. 
Which  side  to  take,  it  was  easy  for  him  to  decide.  'The 
will  of  an  oppressed  people  compelled  to  choose  between 
liberty  and  slavery  must  be  obeyed,'  he  wrote  a  friend. 
In  April,  1775,  he  took  his  seat  in  the  first  Provincial 
Convention;  and  in  June,  on  a  unanimous  recommenda 
tion  from  his  Colony,  he  was  given  a  commission  as 
brigadier-general  by  the  Continental  Congress.  'I  would 
most  willingly  decline  any  military  command  from  a 
consciousness  of  a  want  of  talants,'  he  said  to  Robert 
Livingston;  'nevertheless  I  shall  sacrifice  my  own  inclina 
tions  to  the  service  of  the  public.' 

In  all  America,  perhaps  no  fitter  man  could  have  been 
found  to  command  a  body  of  raw  freemen,  enlisted  in  the 
often  misunderstood  cause  of  Liberty,  and  just  putting 
their  necks  into  the  yoke  of  military  service. 

At  bottom,  he  possessed  the  sturdy,  honest  common-sense 
of  those  who  love  the  soil,  and  the  genial,  kindly  good 
nature  of  the  man  who  delights  to  make  things  grow; 
but  upon  this  was  piled  experience  in  the  brotherly 
fellowship  of  the  mess,  in  the  brilliant  gayety  of  the  ball 
room,  and  in  the  glorious  hazards  of  the  field.  The 
training  of  the  regular  army  had  made  him  a  professional 
soldier;  yet,  instead  of  developing  into  a  martinet 
or  a  tyrant,  he  had  reached  the  point  where  the  artist 
forgets  art,  where  discipline  is  prized  only  for  what 
it  can  produce.  At  the  same  time,  intimacy  with 
Barre,  Fox,  and  Burke  had  expanded  his  mind  with 


Richard  Montgomery 


369 


liberal     views,     deep     reflections,     and    broad    political 
sympathies. 

Gentle  blood  gave  him  the  true  sense  of  dignity 
and  the  true  condescension  of  noblesse  oblige. 

He  could  be  angry  and  sin  not;  or,  if  the  sun  did  go 
down  upon  his  wrath,  it  was  only  to  rise  again  more 
splendid  and  more  benign.  With  him,  however,  anger 
was  extremely  rare.  Out  of  his  deep  reflections  he  drew 
patience,  and  his  own  high  attainments  gave  him  charity 
for  less  ripened  characters  rather  than  pride  in  his  own. 

He  possessed  the  secret  of  making  things  easy  for  his 
fellow- workers, — a  secret  that  consisted  largely  in  making 
them  hard  for  himself.  Yet 
no  stoic  was  he,  no  Spartan. 
Romantic  in  feeling  and  Athe 
nian  in  tastes,  he  suffered  all 
there  was  to  suffer ;  but  he  loved 
even  more  than  he  suffered, 
— loved  honor,  friends,  liberty, 
and  his  duty.  Like  a  Damas 
cus  blade,  his  will  could  bend 
till  point  and  hilt  met,  or  work 
its  way  through  a  problem  like 
the  wards  of  a  lock ;  yet  for  all 
that  his  blade  never  ceased  to 
be  a  sword.  By  yielding,  he 
could  conquer;  and  in  bowing 
to  the  unwisdom  of  others,  he 
could  bring  it  into  close  contact  with  his  own  sagacity 
and  put  it  out  of  countenance. 

One  had  to  sally  a  little  from  the  realm  of  prose  to 
understand  his  character.  This  Damascus  blade  had  an 
^olian  cord  strung  in  its  groove,  and  every  stroke  was 
a  song,— a  song  from  Tara's  ruined  halls,  powerful  but 
sad,  and  yet  forever  breaking  into  a  sparkle  of  gayety 

VOL.  I.  — 24. 


MONTQOMERY;S   ARMS 


370  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

like  the  waves  on  the  beaches  of  Sligo.  When  appointed 
to  the  army,  he  gave  his  wife  the  news  by  asking  her  to 
make  a  cockade  for  his  hat;  and,  as  the  tears  fell  upon 
her  fingers,  turned  her  thoughts  from  danger  to  glory  by 
a  word:  'You  shall  never  blush  for  your  Montgomery  !' 
Yet,  when  the  final  leave-taking  came,  after  he  had  been 
sitting  long  in  a  profound  musing  beside  her,  his  deep 
voice  awed  his  wife's  young  brother  from  the  room  with 
one  solemn,  pathetic  sentence,  that  opened  a  glimpse  into 
a  heart  well-nigh  bursting  with  great  thoughts  and  great 
emotions:  *  "  '  T  is  a  strange  world,  my  masters ! "  I  once 
thought  so,  now  I  know  it.' 

Carleton  was  the  epic  and  Montgomery  the  lyric  of 
heroism.  Carleton  seemed  born  to  command,  and  men 
obeyed  him  instinctively;  Montgomery  was  born  to  lead, 
and  men  would  follow  him  without  knowing  why.  Carle- 
ton's  mind  was  a  rock, — fixed,  unchangeable;  Mont 
gomery's  a  compass-needle, — quivering  when  jarred,  but 
always  true  to  its  pole.  And  now  destiny  had  placed 
these  two  chiefs  on  an  ample  stage,  to  act  out  between 
them  a  moving  and  momentous  tragedy. 


XIII 
ETHAN  AU,EN'S  MISTAKE 


MONTGOMERY  understood  well  the 
political  ideas  of  the  Congress  touching  Canada1; 
upon  the  military  importance  of  Canadian  co-operation  he 
needed  no  advice  ;  and  it  was  evident,  from  both  points  of 
view,  that  he  must  win,  if  possible,  the  respect  and  con 
fidence  of  these  people. 

The  successful  landing  of  his  army  and  his  prudent 
strategic  arrangements  had  no  doubt  a  good  effect  upon 
them;  and  then  followed  several  other  moves  equally 
encouraging. 

In  the  night  of  September  the  seventeenth,  Major 
Brown,  hearing  that  a  British  party  was  taking  supplies 
to  St.  Johns,  attacked  it  by  surprise,  and  captured  four 
hogsheads  of  rum,  some  clothing,  and  some  gun-carriages 
intended  for  the  vessels.  Then,  as  morning  dawned,  he 
proceeded  to  throw  up  a  breastwork  two  miles  or  so  north  of 
the  fort,  counting  upon  the  speedy  arrival  of  Americans 
from  the  other  side  of  it.  Unfortunately,  as  Montgomery 
patiently  remarked,  '  Young  troops  are  not  so  expeditious 
as  could  be  wished'2  ;  besides  which,  the  men  destined  for 
that  quarter,  after  lying  all  night  on  their  arms,  were 
doubtless  weary.  Brown  had  detailed  a  large  part  of  his 
command  as  guards  ;  and  when  a  hundred  regulars,  with 


1  Montg.  to  Sch.,  Sept.  24,  1775  :  4  Force,  III.,  840. 

2  Montg.  to  Bedel,  Sept.  19,  1775:  Dreer  Coll. 

371 


372   Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

as  many  volunteers  and  one  or  two  field-pieces,  sallied  out 
upon  him,  his  fifty  Americans  and  thirty  or  forty  Cana 
dians  could  only  follow  their  booty  into  the  forest.  The 
firing  was  heard  in  the  American  camp ;  and  Montgomery, 
with  Bedel's  corps,  hurried  to  the  scene  of  action. 
Thick  woods  made  them  invisible;  and,  had  they  kept 
still  until  the  exact  situation  of  the  enemy  had  been 
discovered,  they  might  have  taken  the  whole  party,  field- 
pieces  and  all.  As  it  was — what  with  some  excitement, 
some  timidity,  and  some  lack  of  expertness — the  Colonials 
gave  the  British  warning;  yet,  after  a  harmless  though 
'  heavy '  fire  of  grape  and  bullets,  the  regulars  had  to  flee, 
leaving  behind  them  bloody  tokens  of  the  skirmish. 
About  forty  of  the  'Rebels'  were  killed  or  captured,  so 
the  Quebec  Gazette  heard ;  but  those  on  the  ground  knew 
that  no  American  lost  his  life  or  liberty,  and  that  redcoats 
had  been  driven  by  Colonials.  Moreover,  Major  Brown 
drew  his  net  again  very  shortly,  and  found  twelve  more 
wagons  in  it,  laden  with  'rum,  pork,  wine,  etc.'3 

Siege  operations  began  promptly,  and  no  doubt  that 
also  tended  to  encourage  the  Canadian  allies. 

On  the  day  of  this  little  skirmish,  the  troops  on  the 
south  side  advanced  to  the  lower  breastwork,  cleared  the 
ground,  threw  up  intrenchments,  and  made  their  camp. 
By  the  twenty-fifth,  a  two-gun  battery  of  12-pounders  and 
a  small  mortar  battery  had  been  completed;  and  L,amb's 
New  York  artillery  company — very  trim  and  very 
proud — were  dropping  shells  by  wide  orbits  into  the  fort 
and  raining  hot  shot  by  flatter  paths  upon  the  shipyard. 
It  became  evident  that  Carleton  did  not  like  the  situation. 


3  §  Monter.  to  Sch.,  Sept.  19,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  797.  Trumbull,  Journal. 
Bedel  to  N.  H.  Com.  Safety,  Sept.  23,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  779.  Safford,  Journal, 
Sept.  18.  Better,  Oct.  i,  1775:  4  Force  III.  923.  Verreau,  Invasion  (Sanguinet),  p. 
68  ;  (Berthelot),  p.  229.  Journal:  Almon's  Remembrancer,  1776,  Part  II.,  p.  126. 
London  Gazette,  Nov.  4,  1775.  Cramah6  to  Dartmouth,  Sept.  24,  1775:  Pub. 

Rec.  Off.,  Colon.  Corres.,  Quebec,  n,  p.  405.    H.  B.  I,iv.,  to ,  Oct.  6,  1775: 

Mag.  Am.   Hist.,  1889,  p.  256.    Bedel's  'Corps'  included  the  G.  M.  Boys  and 
some  of  Hinman's  men. 


Ethan  Allen's  Brilliant  Rise  373 

A  man  captured  while  trying  to  enter  the  fort  said    he 

carried  verbal  orders  to  evacuate  it,— not  an  easy  thing  to 

do;  and  it  was   strongly  reported'  that  the  King's  stores 

had  been  put  on  board  ship  at  Montreal.     The  natives, 

looking  on   at   all   this,    felt 

that  victory  would  fall  to  the 

invaders.      Three    women 

showed  which  way  the  wind 

blew  by  capturing  a  British 

scout    and  bringing  him    to 

the  camp;  and  Montgomery 

wrote   very    cheerfully    to 

Schuyler,   'Things    seem    to 

go    well    among    the    Cana-       ALLEN'S  HOUSE  AT  BENNINGTON 

dians.'  And  then,  in  a  flash, 

an  able  man,    a  thorough    friend  of  the   cause,    one    of 

Montgomery's    own    subordinates,    accomplished    what 

the  Governor,   the  regulars,  British   gold,    and    priestly 

power  had  failed  to  do :  set  the   Canadians  enlisting  in 

droves  under  the  cross  of  St.  George.4 

The  fact  seemed  almost  incredible ;  yet,  like  everything 
else,  it  came  to  pass  naturally  and  logically. 

Ethan  Allen  had  appeared  upon  the  scene  as  the  Robin 
Hood  of  Catamount  Tavern,  discoursing  wit  and  wisdom 
to  a  band  of  poor  outlaws;  an  outlaw  himself;  in  the  eyes 
of  justice— well  bandaged,  no  doubt— a  freebooter ;  and, 
by  the  verdict  of  the  New  York  authorities,  a  wild  beast  of 
the  mountains,  whom  it  would  be  a  civic  virtue  to  seize  at 
sight.  But,  like  the  traditional  Robin,  bold  Ethan  was  an 
outlaw  only  by  the  force  of  circumstances,  and  he  wished, 
from  the  bottom  of  his  soul,  to  occupy  the  place  in  good 
society  which  he  felt  he  merited.5  After  long  pondering, 

4  §  Montg.  to  Bedel,  Sept.  20,  1775:  Myers  Coll.    Id.  to  Id     Sept.  25:  Dreer 
Coll     Trumbull,  Journal.    Barlow,  Journal.     Women:  Safford,  Journal,  Sept. 
20.    Montg.  to  Sch.,  Sept.  19,  1775  :  4  Force,  III.,  797. 

5  See  p.  116. 


374  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

one  stroke  of  courage  and  address,  the  capture  of 
Ticonderoga,  did  the  miracle  in  a  twinkling,  and  the 
Bennington  outlaw  found  himself  a  national  hero. 

Allen  made  the  most  of  his  opportunity;  or  at  least  he 
tried  to  do  so.  To  the  Massachusetts  Congress  he  repre 
sented  the  conquests  on  the  lakes  as  made  by  'sons  of 
liberty  .  .  .  animated  with  the  glorious  example  of  the 
brave  action  at  Concord,'  and  so  linked  himself  and  his 
followers  to  the  sympathies  and  admiration  of  the  Bay 
Colony.  Trumbull  he  assured  that  the  notice  His 
Honor,  as  well  as  others,  had  taken  of  his  'painful  ser 
vices'  had  'more  confirmedly  and  authorita[ti]vely  deter 
mined'  him  to  hazard  his  life  in  the  common  cause.  In 
the  name  of  the  United  Colonies,  he  addressed  the 
'People  of  Canada,'  and  sent  his  letter  north  to  be  made 
the  most  public  that  it  '  possibly '  could  be.  And  all  this 
assumption  of  importance  and  even  of  a  representative 
authority  was  received  by  the  public  as  appropriate. 
There  seemed  to  be  nothing  that  his  cleverness  and  bold 
ness  could  not  achieve.6 

Two  dramatic  personal  triumphs  crowned  his  exploits. 
Armed  with  a  letter  from  himself  and  other  prominent 
persons  at  the  north  and  attended  by  Seth  Warner,  he 
made  the  long  journey  to  Philadelphia,  strode  across  the 
brick  corridor  of  Independence  Hall,  and  presented  him 
self  at  the  white  doors  of  Congress.  The  portal  opened; 
and  the  leader  of  the  Bennington  Mob  stepped  forward 
under  the  crystal  chandelier,  at  the  very  centre  of  the 
august  circle  in  armchairs.  The  quivering  head  of  Sam 
Adams  poised  itself  at  him,  but  not  as  at  Governor 
Hutchinson.  John  Adams's  luminous  eyes  focused  them 
selves  approvingly  on  his  shaggy  pate.  The  prunes-and- 
prisms  of  Langdon's  amiable  lips  took  on  a  more  virile 


6  §  To  Mass.  Cong.,  June  9,  1775 :  4  Force,  II.,  939.    To  Trumbull,  July  6,  1775: 
Trumbull  Papers,  IV.To  Canada,  June  4,  1775:  Spar" 


sparks  MSS.,  No.  29,  p.  284. 


Ethan  Allen's  Brilliant  Rise  375 

air.  Gadsden's  bright  countenance  glowed  brighter  than 
ever.  Lynch,  hiding  great  riches  under  his  plain  suit  of 
American  cloth,  measured  the  visitor's  rough  but  sturdy, 
proportions  with  evident  satisfaction.  Pale  Dickinson 
looked  puzzled  and  a  trifle  embarrassed;  but  Harrison's 
cherubic  face  beamed.  Kven  dapper  Hancock,  at  the  table, 
appeared  to  feel  a  gust  from  the  northern  hills,  and  the 
rising  sun,  crowned  with  a  liberty -cap,  that  surmounted 
his  chair-back  seemed  gilded  at  that  moment,  like  the 
sun  of  Ticonderoga,  with  a  'superior  lustre.'  Then 
Allen  was  'heard';  and,  before  the  day  closed,  Congress 
advised  the  New  York  authorities  to  take  into  its  own 
service  'those  called  Green  Mountain  Boys/  whom  the 
Colony  had  but  recently  put  under  the  ban.7 

Highly  pleased  that  his  doings  had  been  'noticed  by 
the  Honble  Continental  Congress  with  that  additional 
lustre  they  needed,'  Allen  moved  next  on  the  very  Colony 
that  had  set  a  price  on  his  bristling  head.  On  the  fourth 
of  July,  the  New  York  Congress  'was  informed  that 
Bthan  Allen  was  at  the  door  and  desired  admittance.'  It 
seemed  preposterous.  The  torturer  of  Benjamin  Hough, 
the  prophet  of  the  Beech  Seal  actually  at  the  door,  alive, 
and  not  in  chains!  How  Governor  Tryon,  who  had 
proclaimed  him  an  outlaw,  would  have  foamed  !  but  that 
sad  gentleman  was  in  hiding  on  a  British  man-of-war. 
Some  of  his  kidney  did  hear  the  wild  proposition,  however, 
and  they  made  a  stubborn  fight.  But  they  fought  in  vain. 
Ethan  Allen  was  now  a  figure,  a  personage;  and  with 
him  a  great  multitude,  unseen  yet  not  unfelt,  were  knock 
ing  at  that  heavy  door.8 

Besides,  the  shrewd  fellow  had  taken  some  pains,  in  the 


8  Allen  to  Trumbuh,  July  6,  1775 :   Trumbull  Papers,  IV.    N.  Y.  Cong. .  4 
Force,  II.,  1338. 


376  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

hour  of  triumph,  to  conciliate  his  foes.  No  slight  or 
impertinence  had  been  intended  in  keeping  the  Ticonder- 
oga  enterprise  from  their  knowledge,  he  wrote  the  Con 
gress  of  New  York,  for  it  was  'a  private  expedition,'  and 
'common  fame'  reported  that  there  were  'a  number  of 
over-grown  tories  in  the  Province,'  who  might  have 
betrayed  the  plan.  No  Bennington  Mob  was  it  that  had 
rushed  after  him  through  the  wicket  gate,  but  'the  subjects 
of  your  Governments.'  'The  pork  forwarded  to  sub 
sist  the  army  by  your  Honours'  direction,'  he  deftly 
insinuated,  evinced  approbation  of  the  procedure;  and 
then,  having  proved  them  his  accomplices  after  the  fact, 


ETHAN   ALLEN'S   HOUSE   AT   BURLINGTON 

he  proposed,  'with  submission'  and  before  going  to 
Philadelphia,  'to  raise  a  small  regiment  of  Rangers.' 
Evidently  the  northern  catamount  had  now  laid  aside  his 
claws;  his  fur  could  be  stroked  without  fear;  he  would 
prove  a  valuable  ally;  and  finally  a  vote  of  eighteen  to 
nine  admitted  him  to  the  floor.  Again  he  was  'heard'; 
and  it  was  in  this  way  that  the  New  York  Congress  came 


Allen  Disappointed  Yet  Hopeful         377 

to  let  the  wildcats  enter  its  army  in  a  body,  remain  an 
independent  corps,  recommend  their  own  field-officers, 
and  elect  as  they  pleased  all  the  rest  of  their  leaders.9 

Owing  to  circumstances,  Allen's  contest  with  Arnold 
had  not  been  wholly  successful;  but  the  opportunity  to 
place  his  ingenuity,  his  sagacity,  and  his  knowledge  of 
both  Canadians  and  Indians  in  comparison  with  other 
men's  had  only  confirmed  his  good  opinion  of  himself. 
All  the  leaders  had  come  round  finally  to  his  main  views ; 
and  what  troubles,  what  losses  would  have  been  saved 
by  adopting  and  carrying  them  out  more  promptly! 
Even  Arnold  himself  seems  to  have  conceded  his  claim  to 
some  command ;  and  apparently  Allen  took  post  at  Iron 
Point  in  June  with  a  considerable  force.  To  establish 
himself  at  the  northern  end  of  the  lake  had  been  his  pet 
project.  When  all  plans  to  invade  a  friendly  province 
were  denounced,  he  replied,  'Our  only  having  it  in  our 
power  thus  to  make  incursions  into  Canada,  might  prob 
ably  be  the  very  reason  why  it  would  be  unnecessary  so  to 
do' ;  and  the  fact  that  his  itching  boots  appear  to  have 
carried  him  across  the  line  during  his  stay  at  the  Point, 
did  not  lessen  the  good  sense  of  this  remark.10 

Then  came  reverses.  Something — and  perhaps  it  was 
that  unfortunate  voyage  to  St.  Johns — convinced  the 
hard-headed  farmers  of  the  Grants  that  Warner  could  do 
better  in  the  field ;  so  that  while  they  showed  their  regard 
for  Allen  by  leaving  the  office  of  colonel  vacant,  he 
received  no  appointment  in  the  new  corps.  Schuyler,  also, 
wounded  his  self-esteem.  Little  qualified  to  sympathize 


9  §  Allen  to  N.  Y.  Cong.,  June  2,  1775 :  4  Force,  II.  891.  N.  Y.  Cong. :  ib.,  1312. 
10  §  Allen  to  N.  Y.Cong.,  June  2,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  891.  For  the  (probable) 
Pt.  au  Per  exped. :  Allen  to  Cont.  Cong.,  May  29,  1775  (4  Force,  II.,  732)  ;  Sch. 
to  Hinman,  June  28,  1775  (ib.,  n33  ;  had  Sch.  referred  here  to  Allen's  visit  at 
St  Johns  in  May  he  would  have  mentioned  with  greater  reason  Arnold's)  ; 
Carleton  to  Dartmouth,  June  7,  1775  (Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Colon.  Corres.,  Quebec, 
ii,  p.  283);  Gamble  to  Shirreff,  Sept.  6, 1775  (Boston  Gazette,  Oct.  9,  1775);  Maseres 
to  Shelburne,  Aug.  24,  1775  (MSS.  of  Marq.  of  Iyansdowne,  Vol.  66,  fo.  113). 


378  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

with  Allen's  ways  and  fully  alive  to  the  dangers  of  insub 
ordination,  he  exacted  a  solemn  promise  in  the  presence 
of  witnesses  that  he  would  'demean  himself  properly/ 
before  permitting  him  to  accompany  the  army.11 

Yet,  in  spite  of  all  rebuffs,  the  'mountain  hero'  kept 
on.  Patriotism  called  that  way.  Admiring  friends,  like 
William  Gilleland,  Esquire,  a  very  important  person  on 
Lake  Champlain,  saw  in  him  an  'enterprising  and  heroick 
commander,'  and  no  doubt  begged  him  not  to  withdraw. 
Coaxing  the  stony  earth  at  Sunderland,  digging  rocky 
wells  at  Arlington,  or  shining  for  the  exclusive  illumination 
of  Bennington  Centre,  offered  now  even  smaller  attractions 
than  before.  Unappreciative  farmers  could  not  shut  him 
from  the  service.  The  Conscript  Fathers  at  Philadelphia 
and  the  authorities  of  New  York  had  commissions  to 
give,  and  both  had  vouchsafed  him  assurances,  he  con 
fided  to  Trumbull,  'of  shortly  being  admitted  to  an 
Honourable  perferment  in  the  army.'  Above  all,  feeling 
himself  still  in  partnership  with  Great  Jehovah  and  the 
Continental  Congress,  he  doubtless  burned  for  another 
and  still  grander  opportunity  to  prove  his  connection  with 
the  firm.12 

After  a  while,  that  opportunity  seemed  to  be  drifting 
within  his  reach.  In  spite  of  distrust  and  dislike, 
Schuyler  valued  his  rare  talents  enough  to  employ  him. 
It  was  Allen,  accompanied  by  John  Brown,  who  bore 
Schuyler 's  manifesto  from  Nut  Island  into  Canada,  and 
the  events  of  that  journey  had  little  tendency  to  dis 
courage  his  self-esteem.  From  lip  to  lip  flew  the  great 
news:  Colonel  Allen,  the  hero  of  Ticonderoga,  is  among 
us.  '  Captains  of  the  Militia  and  respectable  gentlemen  of 
the  Canadians'  were  proud  to  visit  him  and  converse  with 

1 !  Sch.  to  Hancock,  Oct.  5,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  951. 

i 2  §  Gilleland  to  Cont.  Cong.,  May.  29,  1775 :  4  Force,  II.,  731.  Allen  to  Trum 
bull,  July  6,  1775:  Trumbull  Papers,  IV. 


Allen  Wins  Eclat  in  Canada  379 

him.  Volunteers  under  arms  guarded  him  night  and 
day.  The  threshold  of  every  cottage,  plain  but  neat, 
longed  for  his  foot.  Chickens,  turkeys,  and  geese  cheer 
fully  yielded  up  their  lives  wherever  he  passed;  rum, 
spruce  beer,  and  sometimes  good  red  wine  from  Bordeaux 
flowed,  almost  without  a  bidding,  wherever  his  bulky 
shadow  fell.  One  day  jackets  of  silesia,  calico,  and  linen, 
with  ribbons  fluttering  joyously  behind,  could  be  seen 
escorting  him  through  the  woods;  another,  mounted  in 
a  light  calash — open  or  covered  according  to  the  wealth 
of  its  owner — to  which  was  'Geered  a  small  Chunk  of  a 
Horse,'  as  Captain  Lacey  would  have  pictured  it,  Allen 
whirled  away  on  some  mysterious  errand,  the  big  round 
bells  on  the  neck  of  his  Bucephalus  jingling  like  mad, 
and  the  happy  driver  still  urging  the  pace.  As  no  Cana 
dian  would  conclude  a  bargain  without  consulting  his  better 
educated  wife,  the  women,  brightening  their  dresses  of 
coarse  homespun  with  just 
a  touch  of  finery,  took  a 
prominent  part  in  the  scene; 
and,  as  they  found  the 
stranger  decidedly  impres 
sive  in  comparison  with  the 
rather  small  and  somewhat  A  CALASH  (caliche} 

gnarly    Pierres    and    Jeans, 

their  lively  and  merry  tongues  wagged  fast,  though 
none  too  fast  for  their  wits.  Yet  Allen  did  not  forget  his 
mission;  and  Carleton  informed  Lord  Dartmouth,  a  week 
after  the  journey  ended,  'their  emissaries  .  .  .  have  in 
jured  us  very  much.'13 


i3  §P.  327  Allen  to  Sch.,  Sept.  8,  1775:  Sch.  Papers.  Id.  to  Id.,  Sept.  14 
1775:  Sparks,  Corres.,  I.,  p.  463.  Stone  (ed.),  Betters  of  Officers,  pp.  15,  16,  etc. 
Marr,  Remarks  on  Quebec:  Can.  Arch.,  M,  384,  p.  85.  Anburey,  Travels,  I.,  p. 
70  lyiv  Journal,  Oct.  19.  Lacey,  Memoirs,  p.  197.  Knded:  Sch.  to  Wash., 
Sept.  20,  1775  (4  Force,  III.,  751).  Carleton  to  Dartmouth,  Sept.  21,  1775:  Pub. 
Rec.  Off.,  Colon.  Corres.,  Quebec,  n,  p.  421. 


380  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

^  Not  satisfied  with  all  this,  Allen  sent  a  messenger  to  the 
Caughnawagas,  'demanding  the  cause  why  sundry  of  the 
Indians  had  taken  up  arms  against  the  United  Colonies.' 
It  was  a  daring  challenge,  but  once  more  his  charm 
worked.  Two  leading  warriors  came  humbly  to  reply. 
It  is  'contrary  to  the  will  and  orders  of  the  chiefs,'  they 
said,  'but  the  King's  Troops  gave  them  rum,  and 
enveigled  them  to  fight  ;  but  we  have  sent  runners,  and 
ordered  them  to  depart  from  St.  John's'  ;  and  perhaps  this, 
as  well  as  the  death  of  their  interpreter,  had  something  to 
do  with  that  sudden  disappearance  of  the  savages.  Nor 
did  it  end  there.  After  a  '  General  Council,  '  the  Caughna 
wagas  tendered  beads  and  a  belt  of  wampum  as  a  'lasting 
testimony  of  their  friendship';  and  these  tokens—  to  the 
great  edification  of  the  Canadians—  weresolemnly  delivered 
to  Allen,  'in  the  presence  of  a  large  auditory,'  at  about 
the  time  when  the  delegates  from  the  Albany  meeting 
were  drawing  near  the  Castle.14 

The  day  after  Montgomery  took  the  army  to  St.  Johns, 
he  sent  off  this  Colonel  in  partibus,  attended  by  Dugan 
and  six  or  seven  others,  to  clothe  his  title  with  a  body  of 
Canadian  recruits  at  Chambly.  Allen  did  not  wish  to 
go,  he  said  afterwards,  and  the  faintest  possible  suspicion 
of  the  future  would  have  been  enough  to  explain  such 
unwonted  backwardness;  but,  within  forty-eight  hours, 
regrets  were  swallowed  up  in  glory,  or—  in  something 
else.15 

'Excellent  Sir,'  he  wrote  Montgomery,  'I  am  now  in 
the  Parish  of  St.  Tuors  [St.  Ours],  four  leagues  from 
Sorel,  to  the  south  ;  have  two  hundred  and  fifty  Cana 
dians  under  arms  ;  as  I  march,  they  gather  fast.  There 


hv  i4|^lle^  J?  Sch"^pt  14,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  742  ;  apparently  confirmed 
by  Precis  of  Oper.  This  'treaty,'  however,  directly  concerned  only  the 
caugnna  wagas  . 

1S  §Trumbull,  Journal,    Sept.  18.     Montg.  to  Sch.,  Sept.  19   1775:  4  Force, 
III.,  797.    Allen,  Narrative,  pp.  24,  25. 


Allen  in  Sight  of  Montreal  381 

are  the  objects  of  taking  the  vessels  in  Sorel  [or  Richelieu 
River]  and  General  Carleton  [believed  to  be  aboard  one  of 
them];  these  objects  I  pass  by,  to  assist  the  army  besieg 
ing  St.  John's.  .  .  .  You  may  rely  on  it  that  I  shall  join 
you  in  about  three  days,  with  five  hundred  or  more 
Canadian  Volunteers.  .  .  .  Those  that  used  to  be 
enemies  to  our  cause  come  cap  in  hand  to  me;  and  I 
swear  by  the  lord  I  can  raise  three  times  the  number  of 
our  army  in  Canada,  provided  you  continue  the  siege. 
.  .  .  God  grant  you  wisdom,  fortitude,  and  every 
accomplishment  of  a  victorious  General ;  the  eyes  of  all 
America,  nay,  of  Europe,  are  or  will  be  on  the  economy 
of  this  army,  and  the  consequences  attending  it.  ... 
P.  S.  I  have  purchased  six  hogsheads  of  rum  ....  pray 
let  no  object  of  obstruction  be  insurmountable.'  Kings 
may  be  blest,  but  Ethan  was  now  glorious.  'It  is  the 
advice  of  the  officers  with  me,  that  I  speedily  repair  to 
the  army,'  his  candor  admitted  in  the  same  epistle;  but 
instead  of  that  he  went  on  'preaching  politics,'  and 
reported  meeting  with  'good  success  as  an  itinerant.'18 

Meanwhile,  'Sept  ye  22Ild  1775  at  9  at  night,'  John 
Grant,  Captain  of  an  American  force,  arrived  at  lyongueuil 
and  found  the  people  in  a  high  state  of  excitement. 
Word  had  come  from  Montreal  that  an  attack  was  to  be 
made  upon  the  place  at  once  or  cas  soon  as  posabel.' 
Livingston  had  been  notified,  and  reinforcements  had 
immediately  set  out  from  Chambly;  but  Captain  Grant, 
on  advice,  wrote  Allen  also,  begging  him  '  to  send  a  party 
or  com  as  soon  as  ma  be,'  if  not  occupied  elsewhere. 
Allen  was  by  no  means  the  man  to  send  a  party  when  he 
could  go  himself;  and  so  it  came  to  pass  that  he  spent  the 
night  of  the  twenty-third  at  L,ongueuil,  nearly  opposite 
Montreal.  There,  looking  long  and  hard  across  the 

i6  §  Allen  to  Montg.,  Sept.  20:  4  Force,  III.,  754.     Allen,  Narrative,  p.  25. 


<^v 


A  PORTION   OF   ETHAN   ALLEN'S   LETTER   ANNOUNCING  THE 
CAPTURE   OF  TICONDEROQA 


Allen  in  Sight  of  Montreal  383 

rushing  St.  Lawrence  at  the  twinkling  lights,  he  saw 
what  he  felt  unwilling  to  'pass  by,'  even  to  assist  the 
army  and  its  excellent  general! 17 

'Provided  I  had  but  five  hundred  men  with  me  at  St. 
John's  when  we  took  the  King's  sloop,  I  would  have 
advanced  to  Montreal,'  he  had  written  the  Continental 
Congress  in  May,  on  returning  from  his  luckless  voyage. 
Possibly  that  was  only  bravado,  intended  to  cover  his 
failure ;  but  if  so,  he  at  least  soon  took  it  seriously,  though 
with  prudent  modifications.  To  the  New  York  Congress 
he  announced  four  days  later:  'I  will  lay  my  life  on  it, 
that  with  fifteen  hundred  men  and  a  proper  train  of 
artillery,  I  will  take  Montreal.'  By  the  middle  of  July, 
he  informed  Trumbull  that  if  the  Green  Mountain  Boys 
had  not  been  formed  into  '  a  Battalion,  under  certain 
regulations  and  command,'  he  would  'forthwith  advance 
them  into  Canada,  and  invest  Montreal.'  And  now  the 
city  of  dreams— the  city  of  his  dreams  as  well  as  of 
others — lay  just  across  the  river.  Nobody  about  him 
supposed  Carleton  was  there;  all  or  nearly  all  the  troops 
had  been  drawn  away;  and  even  Montgomery  considered 
this  rich  and  populous  town  '  in  a  very  defenceless  state.'18 

Allen's  heart  swelled.  Months  before,  he  had  pictured 
the  splendid  opportunity  placed  before  America.  'She 
might  rise  on  eagles'  wings,  and  mount  up  to  glory, 
freedom,  and  immortal  honour,  if  she  did  but  know  and 
exert  her  strength,'  he  had  pointed  out;  'Fame  is  now 
hovering  over  her  head.  A  vast  continent  must  now  sink 
to  slavery,  poverty,  horrour,  and  bondage,  or  rise  to 
unconquerable  freedom,  immense  wealth,  inexpressible 
felicity,  and  immortal  fame.'19  How  feebly,  how  tardily 


1 1  §  Grant:  Sandham,  Ville  Marie,  p.  72.    Allen,  Narrative,  p.  25. 

i  s  §  Allen  to  Cont.  Cong.,  May  29,  1775 :  4  Force,  II.,  732  Id.  to  N.  Y.  Cong., 
June  2,  1775:  ib.,  891.  Id.  to  Trumbull,  July  12,  1775:  ib.,  1649.  Montg.  to  Sch.v 
Sept.  28,  1775:  Sparks,  Corres.,  I.,  p.  467. 

19  Allen  to  N.  Y.  Cong. :  Note  18. 


384  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

had  the  country  moved!  Even  now  the  victory  might 
fall  from  its  lips.  Why  should  not  he,  as  he  had  seized 
Ticonderoga,  now  seize  Montreal,  make  sure  of  the 
Canadians,  and  plant  his  own  name  forever  on  a  pedestal 
too  high  for  detraction?  To  stop  short  before  such  an 
opportunity,  especially  with  a  gale  of  Canadian  admira 
tion  almost  ripping  his  canvas, — it  seemed  impossible. 

Unfortunately,  only  about  eighty  Canadians,  instead  of 
'five  hundred  or  more'  had  followed  him,  and  he  set  out 
perforce  the  next  morning  for  St.  Johns;  but  within  two 
miles  of  Longueuil  he  met  Brown,  then  in  charge  of  a  con 
siderable  force  at  L,aprairie,  The  two  chiefs,  with  several 
others,  went  into  a  house  close  at  hand,  shut  themselves 
up  in  a  room,  and  soon  fell  with  one  accord  upon  the 
scheme  of  attacking  Montreal.  Later,  Allen  very  cheer 
fully  gave  his  ally  the  credit  of  proposing  this  plan,  but 
he  admitted  that  it  was  'readily  approved'  by  him  and  the 
rest.  There  were  canoes  as  well  as  men  at  Laprairie; 
there  were  friends  as  well  as  foes  at  Montreal;  the 
resources  appeared  ample  and  the  nut  a  fragile  one. 
Brown,  with  nearly  two  hundred  followers,  was  to  cross 
above  the  town,  so  Allen  stated  later,  and  he  himself 
below  it ;  each  would  silently  approach  the  gate  at  his  end 
of  the  city;  Brown's  party  would  give  three  huzzas, 
Allen's  would  respond,  and  then  both  would  fall  to. 
Everything  arranged,  each  returned  to  his  base  and 
made  preparations,  Allen  for  his  part  adding  about  thirty 
'English- Americans'  to  his  force,  and  waiting  impatiently 
for  the  curtain  of  shadows  to  fall.20 

'  Dark  was  the  night,  and  stormy  rolled  the  sea.' 

Merely  to  cross  the  river  proved  no  easy  task. 
Ivongueuil  stood  about  a  mile  and  a  half  below  the  city ; 


20  §  Allen,  Narrative,  pp.  25,  27.     Montg.   to  Sch.,  Sept.  24,  1775:  4  Force 
III..  840.     Verreau  (.Lorimier),  Invasion,  pp.  255,  256.     I.  Allen,  Vt.,  p.  64. 


VOL     I.  — 25. 


((    UNIVERSITY     1 
,C, 


Allen  Attacks  Montreal  387 

and  the  broad  St.  Lawrence,  hurrying  from  the  rapids 
just  above,  swept  down  past  the  northern  shore,  in  what 
was  named  St.  Mary's  Current,  with  a  force  that  even 
large  vessels  dreaded.  Two  years  before,  citizens  of 
Montreal  had  petitioned  for  a  fixed  ferry  to  Longueuil, 
but  the  request  had  been  ordered  to  'lye  on  the  Table'  ; 
so  that  probably  only  canoes,  dugouts  of  red  elm,  or 
possibly  a  bateau  or  two  could  be  had.  A  brigantine  and 
other  armed  vessels  lay  in  the  harbor;  and  fifty  or  sixty 
regulars  were  sleeping  within  call  of  their  sentries.  Six 
times,  through  darkness  and  wind,  the  rushing  stream 
had  to  be  crossed,  and  the  morning  of  the  twenty-fifth 
had  begun  to  unfurl  its  banners,  when  the  last  load 
scrambled  up  the  sandy  shore  at  tongue  Pointe.  With 
two  lieutenants,  Allen  reconnoitred  the  situation.  The 
people  of  the  suburbs,  perhaps  because  no  walls  defended 
them,  had  shown  a  specially  benign  countenance  toward 
the  Americans.  Only  the  day  before,  when  a  hint  of 
danger  had  spread  through  the  city  and  orders  been 
given  to  deposit  their  ladders  within  the  gates,  they  had 
'refused  with  Insolence,'  and  threatened  to  make  any 
body  suffer  who  should  try  to  enforce  the  command. 
Allen  counted  not  a  little  on  their  aid,  and  visited  several 
of  their  houses  boldly.  Next,  soon  after  day,  he  posted 
a  guard  on  the  road  each  side  of  his  position  and  was 
ready.21 

Why  did  not  Brown's  huzza  come  hurtling  over  the 
town  then,  like  the  peal  of  Roland's  horn?  Admirers  of 
the  brave  Major  have  puzzled  sadly  over  his  total  failure 
to  appear,  while  Ira  Allen,  blaming  him  and  Warner 
for  abandoning  Ethan,  remarked  pointedly  that  '  the 

21  §  Hopkins,  Atlas.  Minutes  Gov.'s  Council,  Tulv  24,  177-,  •  Can  Arch 
Dugouts  Anburey,  Travels,  I.,  p.  1,6.  I.  Allen,  Vt.,  p.  64  ^Brlg3  '(Gaffie)  etc  • 
Oriet  in  Tryon's  of  Nov.  n,  i775  (Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Am.  and  W.  I  ,  Vol  185  p' 
6g3K  Allen  IS  arrative,  p.  26.  Verreau  (Sanguinet),  Invasion,  p.  49.  Carleton 
to  Dartmouth,  Oct.  25,  I775:  Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Colon.  Corres.,  Quebec  n,  p  433 


388   Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

disciples  of  Jesus  Christ  disputed  among  themselves  who 
should  be  the  greatest.'  But  if  Brown,  after  originat 
ing  the  plan,  had  furnished  canoes  and  supplied  the 
greater  number  of  men,  no  one  could  have  denied  him 
the  chief  credit,  and  selfish  ambition  itself  would  have 
induced  him  to  cross.  Was  there  a  misunderstanding, 
then?  Apparently  there  was, — at  least  in  Allen's  Narra 
tive,  written  years  afterwards ;  for  Montgomery  said  that 
Allen,  who  perchance  recalled  Arnold's  uncomfortable 
claims  at  Ticonderoga,  preferred  to  undertake  the  affair 
'single-handed,'  urged  on  by  his  'imprudence  and 
ambition.'" 

Now,  however,  he  found  himself  too  much  alone. 
Evidently  the  people  of  the  faubourg,  while  friendly,  did 
not  intend  to  rise  in  a  body  or  in  any  other  way ;  and  he 
decided  to  send  for  aid  to  Brown  at  Laprairie  and  to 
Thomas  Walker,  then  at  Assomption.  Unfortunately  a 
certain  Desautel,  seized  by  the  guards  on  his  way  from 
Montreal  to  his  farm  at  Longue  Pointe,  escaped^  and  fled 
to  the  city.  In  a  moment  Allen  saw  that  his  numbers 
would  be  revealed,  and  the  enemy  would  soon  fall  upon 
him.  There  was  time  for  one  trip  across  the  river,  but 
apparently  not  for  all  his  men  to  be  ferried  over.  He 
could  not  think  of  abandoning  two-thirds  of  them;  so  he 
decided  to  fight  it  out,  and,  planting  himself  in  a  good 
position  two  or  three  miles  from  the  city,  he  awaited 
attack.23 

With  all  his  vanity,  he  did  not  realize  the  terror  of  his 
name.  When  the  news  passed  through  the  gates  that 
'Ethan  Allen,  the  Notorious  New  Hampshire  Incendiary,' 
as  Governor  Tryon  labelled  him,  had  actually  landed  at 
the  door,  even  Guy  Johnson  admitted  that  Montreal  '  was 


22  §  I.  Allen,  Vt.,  p.  64.      Montg.  to  Sch.,  Sept.  28,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  952. 

23  §  Allen,  Narrative,  pp.   27,   28.     Verreau  (Sanguinet),  Invasion,  p.    50. 
Quebec  Gazette,  Oct.  5,  1775. 


Alarm  in  Montreal  389 

thrown  into  the  utmost  Confusion,'  and  some  of  the 
officials  took  refuge  on  the  ships.  Carleton  himself  did 
not  learn  of  the  news  until  nine  o'clock.  Then  the 
drums  beat  sharply  through  the  streets ;  '  all  the  old 
Gentlemen  &  better  sort  of  Citizens  English  &  Canadian,' 
as  the  Governor  appraised  them,  'turned  out  under  Arms, 
some  of  the  lower  Classes  followed  their  Example,'  and 
all  hurried  to  the  Parade  (Champ  de  Mars).  In  brief 
sentences  Carleton  pictured  the  danger,  and  ordered  the 
people  to  join  the  troops  at  the  barracks.  The  very  idea 
of  being  attacked,  the  mere  thought  of  possible  violence 
and  plundering,  stirred  the  instinct  of  resistance  ;  yet  a 
number,  '  mostly  Colonists,  then  stept  forward  &  turned 
off  the  contrary  way ' ;  and  the  sun  had  begun  to  descend, 
when  some  thirty  soldiers,  followed  by  eighty  or  a 
hundred  British  volunteers  (partly  from  Guy  Johnson's 
rangers),  about  a  hundred  and  twenty  Canadians  of  all 
sorts,  and  six  or  eight  Indians,  bustled  from  Quebec 
Gate  and  hurried  towards  the  north,  smashing  all  the 
boats  alongshore  as  they  went,  in  order  to  cut  off  the 
enemy's  retreat.24 

Allen  arranged  his  little  force  behind  some  trees  and 
buildings  and  the  natural  rampart  of  a  small  stream,  the 
Truteau ;  and  so  well  did  the  men  stick  to  cover  that  one 
of  the  other  side  reported  he  never  saw  more  than  three 
at  a  time, — unless  this  merely  proved  the  critic's  own  dis 
cretion.  To  prevent  flank  attacks,  Young  was  posted  with 
a  small  body  behind  the  bank  of  the  St.  I,awrence,  and 
John  Dugan,  with  fifty  Canadians,  at  a  ditch  on  the 
right;  but  both  of  them  fled  to  the  woods.  Allen,  on  the 
other  hand,  as  Lanaudiere  frankly  said,  'conducted  him- 


24  §  Tryon  to  Sec.  State,  Oct.  18,  1775:  Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Am.  and  W.  I  .  Vol 
428,  p.  303.  Johnson  to  Dartmouth,  Oct.  12,  1775:  ib.,  Vol.  279,  p.  345.  To  ships: 
Verreau  (Sanguinet),  Invasion,  p.  50.  Carleton,  Oct.  25:  Note  21.  Montreal 
letters:  Quebec  Gazette,  Oct.  5,  IQ,  1775.  Allen,  Narrative,  pp.  27-20  The  fight 
began  between  2  and  3  o'clock,  P.M.  (Allen). 


390  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

self  in  the  action  with  great  valor,'  and  his  own  'banditti,' 
to  quote  Cramahe,  made  a  'pretty  smart'  fight;  yet  in  the 
end  he  saw  the  British  were  going  to  surround  him,  and, 
on  trying  to  get  away,  discovered — by  experimenting  for  a 
mile  or  so — that  others  could  run  as  fast  as  he.  Expecting 
no  quarter,  he  dreaded  to  surrender;  but  eventually,  after 
exchanging  shots  with  Peter  Johnson,  a  natural  son  of 
Sir  William,  he  gave  up  his  sword  to  him, — 'providing 
I  can  be  treated  with  honor,'  he  added.25 

Johnson  and  a  colleague  agreed  to  the  'treaty' ;  but  a 
brace  of  horridly  painted  savages,  who  did  not,  tried  to 
murder  the  prisoner.  Allen,  however,  had  not  lost  his 
cunning;  and,  seizing  one  of  the  officers,  a  small  man,  he 
kept  him  whirling  on  all  sides  as  a  living  shield,  until  an 
Irishman  drove  the  Indians  away  with  his  fixed  bayonet. 
The  contest  had  lasted  'an  hour  and  three-quarters  by  the 
watch' ;  yet  the  raiders  had  lost  only  some  twelve  or  fif 
teen  in  killed  and  wounded,  and  the  other  side — evidently 
no  less  partial  to  shelter — about  half  as  many,  not  to  men 
tion  a  round  bit  of  felt  punched  from  L,anaudiere's  hat. 
Nearly  forty  prisoners,  however,  marched  to  the  city. 

For  a  particular  reason,  the  British  officers  had  a  deep 
grudge  against  Allen.  His  raids  on  Ticonderoga  and  St. 
Johns,  his  pungent  rhetoric,  and  his  political  itiner 
ancy,  though  good  enough  grounds  for  hatred,  were  all 


2  5  Accounts  of  the  fight  (differing  somewhat  as  to  numbers  and  other 
details):  Carleton  to  Dartmouth  Oct.  25,  1775  (Note  21) ;  Allen,  Narrative,  pp. 
29-38  ;  Letter  from  St.  Johns  (Conn.  Gazette,  Dec.  i,  1775);  Verreau,  Invasion, 
pp.  50  (Sanguinet),  255  (Lorimier),  315  (Lanaudiere)  ;  Bedel  to  Montg.,  Sept.  28, 
1775  (Lib.  of  Cong.,  Letters  to  Wash.,  VII.,  p.  50);  Quebec  Gazette,  Oct.  5,  19, 
1775  ;  Cramah£  to  Dartmouth,  Sept.  30,  1775  (Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Colon.  Corres  , 
Quebec,  n,  p.  413);  Letters  from  Quebec  (4  Force,  III.,  845,  924);  Precis  of  Oper., 
Johnson,  Oct.  12,  1775  (Note  24);  Claus  (No.  Am.  Notes,  I.,  i,  p.  26) ;  Watson  to 
Gov.  Franklin,  Oct.  19,  1775  (4  Force,  III.,  1601);  Ainslie,  Journal  (Introd.)  ; 
Montgolfier  to  Briand  [Oct.  28,  1775],  in  Can.  Arch.;  Stevenson  [to  Tryon]  (Pub. 
Rec.  Off.,  Am.  and  W.  I.,  Vol.  185,  p.  705  ;  Tryon  to  Sec.  State,  Oct  18,  1775  ;  Feb. 
8,  1776  (ib.,  Vol.  428,  p.  303  ;  Vol.  186,  p.  305  ;  Carleton  to  Harrington,  Aug.  20, 
1775  (WarOfi.,  Orig.  Corres.,  Vol.  12)  ;  Warner  to  Montg.,  Sept.  27,  1775  (4  Force, 
III.,  953  ;  Montg.  to  Sch.,  Sept.  28,  1775  (ib.,  952)  ;  Ind.  Trans.  (Pub.  Rec.  Off., 


Am.  and  W.  I.,  Vol.  280,  p.  9);  J.  Liv.  to  Montg.,  Sept.,  27,  1775  (4  Force,  III., 
952);   I.  Allen,  Vt.,  p.  64;  London  Gazette,  Nov.  4,  1775;   Tri     ' 
Conn.  Courant,  Nov.  20,  1775.   REMARK  XXIII. 


* 


392  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

surpassed  by  something  else.  'We  hope  as  Indians  are 
Good  and  Honest  Men  you  will  not  Fight  for  King  George 
against  us,'  he  had  written  to  the  Canadian  savages  in 
May,  '  as  we  have  Done  you  no  Wrong  and  would  Chuse 
to  live  with  you  as  Brothers  I  always  I^ove  Indians  and 
Have  Hunted  a  great  Deal  with  them  I  know  how  to 
Shute  and  Ambush  Just  Like  Indian  and  want  your  War 
riors  to  come  and  see  me  and  help  me  fight  Regulars  You 
know  how  they  Stand  all  along  close  Together  Rank  and 
file  and  my  men  fight  so  as  Indians  Do  and  I  want  your 
Warriors  to  Join  with  me  and  my  Warriors  Like  Brothers 
and  Ambush  the  Regulars,  if  you  will  I  will  Give  you 
Money  Blankits  Tomehawks  Knives  and  Paint  and  the 
lyike  as  much  as  You  Say  because  they  first  killed  our  men 
when  it  was  peace  Time  and  Try  to  Kill  Us  all.  '26  It  was 
probably  this  over-frank  epistle,  taken  from  the  Caughna- 
waga  ambassadors,  which  brought  them  so  near  the 
halter,  and  how  the  regulars  felt  about  its  author  could 
easily  be  judged.  Yet  the  officers  whom  Allen  soon  met 
understood  their  duty,  as  gentlemen  and  soldiers,  toward 
a  captive  foe,  and  acted  accordingly. 

'We  are  very  happy  to  see  Colonel  Allen,'  remarked 
their  spokesman. 

*  I  should  rather  choose  to  have  seen  you  at  General 
Montgomery's  camp,'  he  answered. 

'We  give  full  credit  to  what  you  say,'  they  returned 
politely ;  and  all  moved  on  to  the  city. 

Quite  otherwise  it  happened  in  the  barrack  yard. 
Brigadier-General  Prescott,27  the  direct  commander  of 
Montreal,  waited  there,  and,  as  the  prisoner-in-chief  came 
up,  glared  upon  him  with  murder  in  his  eye. 


26  Allen,  May  24,  1775:  Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Colon.  Corres.,  Quebec,  n,  p.  297. 
Allen  s  writing-  here  appears  unamended. 

27  For  Prescott  :  Carleton  to  Dartmouth,  Aug.  14,  1775  (Can.  Arch.,O,  u,  p 
222);  Precis  of  Oper.;  Cannon,  Record  7th  Fusiliers,  p.  108  ;  N.  Y.  Colon  Docs 
VIII.,  p.  659,  note. 


Allen  and  Prescott  393 

It  was  an  extraordinary  scene.  On  the  one  hand  stood 
a  British  officer,  a  professional  soldier,  a  graduate  of 
society,  well  groomed,  handsomely  uniformed,  sword  at 
side,  cane  in  hand.  Facing  him  was  Allen,  a  son  of  the 
forest,  rough,  unkempt,  a  chief  of  what  seemed  even  to 
Arnold  like  'wild  men,'  dressed  in  a  short  deerskin  jacket, 
with  an  undervest  and  breeches  of  sagathy,  coarse  stock 
ings,  cowhide  shoes  fortified  with  hobnails,  and  a  red 
woollen  cap, — his  thick  hair  tangled,  and  everything 
stained  with  dust,  mire,  and  smoke. 

'Who  are  you?  What  is  your  name?'  demanded 
the  General,  in  a  tone  to  make  the  spotless  quail. 

'My  name  is  Allen.' 

'Are  you  the  "Colonel"  Allen  who  took  Ticonderoga?' 

'The  very  man.' 

At  this,  Prescott  'put  himself  into  a  great  fury,'  as 
Allen  said  afterward,  brandished  his  cane  over  the 
prisoner's  head,  and  loaded  him  with  hard  names, — 
'rebel'  most  of  all. 

Allen  shook  his  fist  at  him.  'You'd  better  not  cane 
me,  I  'm  not  used  to  it.  Offer  to  strike,  and  that's  the 
beetle  of  mortality  for  you,'  he  cried,  while  Captain 
Mcl,eod  pulled  the  General  by  the  skirt  of  his  coat,  and 
whispered  that  he  could  not  honorably  strike  a  prisoner. 
Prescott  then  turned  his  rolling  eye  upon  feebler 
victims,  and  ordered  a  sergeant  and  his  guard  to  bayonet 
the  thirteen  captured  habitants. 

Did  he  mean  it?  The  unhappy  Canadians  thought  so, 
and  stood  there  trembling,  wringing  their  hands,  and 
lisping  broken  prayers.  The  soldiers  also  appeared  to 
think  so,  and  levelled  their  pieces.  Allen  believed  the 
same;  and,  'cut  to  the  heart'  at  seeing  them  in  so  hard  a 
case  for  being  true,  he  stepped  between  his  men  and  their 
executioners,  tore  open  his  clothes,  laid  bare  his  shaggy 
bosom,  and  cried  to  Prescott,  '  I  am  the  one  to  blame,  not 


394  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

they.  Thrust  your  bayonet  into  my  breast !  I  am  the 
sole  cause  of  their  taking  up  arms.' 

General,  soldiers  with  levelled  muskets,  trembling 
Canadians,  Americans,  and  amazed  spectators,  all  stood 
like  posts  for  what  seemed  a  minute. 

'I  will  not  execute  you  now,'  muttered  Prescott  finally, 
'but  you  shall  grace  a  halter  at  Tyburn, ye.' 

It  was  Allen's  greatest  victory,  for  it  was  a  triumph  of 
the  spirit  and  won  him  Carleton's  respect,  but  it  was  also 
his  last;  and  soon,  'In  the  wheel  of  transitory  events,'  to 
quote  his  own  idiom,  he  found  himself  a  prisoner  in  the 
hold  of  the  Gaspe, — there  to  remain  for  some  time,  as  no 
suitable  jail  existed  in  the  town,  and  finally  to  be  shipped 
over-seas  for  trial.28 

Jubilation  filled  every  loyalist  heart  in  Montreal  that 
night;  filled  it  and  overflowed.  The  city  saved,  that 
counted  for  much;  but  that  was  only  the  beginning. 
'Their  most  daring  Partizan,'  as  Guy  Johnson  called 
Allen,  caged  in  the  brigantine;  the  Moses  of  the  Cana 
dians  proven  a  false  prophet:  who  could  fail  to  see  now 

that  treason  did 
not  pay?  Theafiair 
*  promised  great 
Consequences,'  be 
lieved  Johnson. 
'Thank  God  that 

day's  Action  turned  the  minds  of  the  Canadians,'  ex 
claimed  the  pious  Brook  Watson;  and  the  Governor 
himself  reported  that  it '  gave  a  favorable  turn  to  the  Minds 
of  the  People.'29 


are  inferential. 

29  §  Johnson  to  Dart.,  Oct.  12:  Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Am.  and  W.  I.,  Vol.  279,  p.  345- 


Carleton  Decides  to  Strike  395 

Carleton  now  struck  the  hot  iron.  He  knew  well  that 
impunity  had  given  an  air  of  respectability  and  even 
legality  to  the  'traitors'  at  Montreal;  but  no  doubt  he 
trusted  that,  if  one  of  them  were  branded  as  a  criminal,  all 
save  the  most  hardened  would  shrink  from  the  stamp, 
and  the  Canadians,  long  misled  by  their  arguments,  would 
learn  wisdom.  Feeling  now  that  a  blow  could  be 
ventured,30  he  cast  his  eye  sternly  around;  and  it  fell — 
yet  not  by  chance— on  Thomas  Walker. 

Many  slanders  had  no  doubt  been  circulated  about  this 
gentleman  by  his  personal  enemies;  but  enough  of  the 
reports  were  true.  The  Address  of  Congress  to  the 
Canadians  had  been  forwarded  to  him  and  through  his 
means  widely  circulated.  In  spite  of  his  wife's  cautions, 
he  had  insisted  upon  airing  his  political  ideas  freely. 
Confidential  letters  addressed  to  him  by  Arnold  and 
Brown  had  been  intercepted.  Baker's  Journal,  found  on 
the  scout's  dead  body,  mentioned  a  note  from  Walker — 
at  least,  L,orimier  so  stated — which  promised  fifteen 
hundred  men  for  the  Colonial  service.  According  to  the 
evidence  of  Pierre  Charlan,  Walker  told  him  that  two 
days  did  not  pass  without  his  receiving  letters  from  the 
Bostonians;  and  Belair,  Captain  of  the  Militia  at 
Assomption,  testified  that  on  the  day  of  Allen's  raid 
Walker  gathered  men  for  a  march  to  Montreal,  disband 
ing  them  when  the  news  of  Allen's  defeat  arrived.81 

Soon  after  Montgomery  led  his  army  to  St.  Johns,  a 
servant  whom  Mrs.  Walker  had  sent  from  Montreal  with 


Watson  to  Faneuil,  Oct.  16,  1775:  Cont.  Cong.  Papers,  153,  I.,  p.  304  (see  also 
Id.,  4  Force,  III.,  1600,  1601).  Id.  to  Butler,  Oct.  19,  1775:  ib.,  1600.  Snyder 
affidavit,  Jan.  19,  1776:  4  Force,  IV.,  872.  Carl,  to  Dartmouth,  Oct.  25:  Note  21. 

3  o  Precis  of  Operations. 

3i  §  Circulated:  Quebec  letter,  Oct.  25,  1775  (4  Force,  III.,  1185);  Walker, 
Memorial  (Cont.  Cong.  Papers,  41,  X.,  p.  665).  Cautions:  Deschamp,  de 
position,  Oct.  10,  1775  (Can.  Arch.,  Report  for  1888,  p.  892).  Intercepted :  Arnold, 
May  20,  1775  (Can.  Arch.,  O.,  11,  p.  192) :  Id.,  May  24  (ib.,  p.  196);  Brown,  Aug.  i 
(ib.,  p.  236).  Verreau  (I^onmier),  Invasion,  p.  247.  Charlan:  Can.  Arch.,  Q,  n, 
p.  238.  Belair:  Can.  Arch.,  Report  for  1888,  p.  892. 


396   Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

a  message  to  her  husband,  then  at  his  country  place, 
was  seized,  carried  into  a  barn,  and  stripped  naked  to  find 
letters.  This  led  Mrs.  Walker  to  call  upon  the  Gover 
nor,  but  she  failed  to  convince  him  that  his  suspicions  had 
no  ground.  On  the  contrary,  Carleton  'said  many  severe 
things  in  very  soft  &  Polite  terms/  as  she  noted  in  her 
Journal  :  in  particular,  that  Walker  must  quit  the  country. 

1  Quit  the  country,  Sir?     'T is  impossible.' 

'He  must  go.  You  may  stay  and  take  care  of  his 
affairs,  &  you  shall  be  protected.' 

'Your  Excellency  knows  that  Mr.  Walker's  dealings 
are  very  extensive,  so  much  so  that  /  could  by  no  means 
undertake  to  superintend  them.' 

The  Governor  insisted ;  but  Walker  refused  absolutely  to 
banish  himself,  except  on  the  impossible  condition  that 
Carleton  would  indemnify  him  for  all  losses. 

In  that  way  the  matter  had  ended,  but  now  something 
could  be  done.  An  order  for  his  arrest,  on  the  charge  of 
high  treason,  was  issued ;  and  Prescott,  greedy  to  destroy 
somebody,  gave  the  warrant  and  instructions  personally 
to  Captain  Belair,  handing  him  also  a  bag  of  pitch  and 
oakum.32 

On  the  fifth  of  October,  in  the  evening,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Walker  were  sitting  together  in  their  comfortable  farm 
house  at  Assomption,  when  suddenly  the  dogs  began  to 
bark  furiously.33 

'Go  and  see  what  it  is,'  Walker  bade  a  servant;  and  in 
an  instant — alarming  promptness — the  attendant  was  back. 

'  Some  men  are  rowing  up  the  stream  as  if  the  devil  was 
in  them!'  he  exclaimed. 

32  §  Mrs.  Walker,  Journal.    Almon,  Remembrancer,  1776,  Part  II.,  p.  248. 
Walker,  Memorial:  Note  31. 

33  For  this  and  the  following  paragraphs:  Carleton  to  Dartmouth,  Oct.  25, 
!775  (Note  21)-  Walker,  affidavit  (Almon,  Remembrancer,  1776,  Part  II.,  p.  244); 
Walker,  Memorial  (Note  31);  Mrs.  Walker,  Journal ;  Foucher,  Journal,  Oct.  28 
(Can.  Arch.);  Verreau  (Sanguinet),  Invasion,  p.  53  ;  Belair,  affidavit  (4  Force, 
IV.,  1175);  Walker,  statement  (ib.,  1176);  Quebec  letter,  Oct.  25,  177=5  U  Force. 
III.,  1185);  Maseres,  Add.  Papers,  p.  108.     ' 


Thomas  Walker  Seized  397 

Nothing  happened,  however,  until  two  or  three  o'clock 
in  the  morning".  At  that  time,  the  main  body  of 
Prescott's  posse — some  twenty  regulars  and  a  dozen 
Canadians— arrived  by  the  road,  fired  a  musket,  broke 
through  the  door  with  an  axe,  and  rushed  in  en 
masse,  yelling  like  Mohawks.  Walker,  meanwhile,  had 
time  to  throw  on  a  waistcoat  and  coat,  slip  a  brace  of 
pistols  into  his  pockets,  catch  up  a  short  rifle,  and  station 
himself  at  the  head  of  the  stairs  leading  to  the  attic, 
where  his  wife  had  taken  refuge  in  her  night-shift ;  and 
now,  without  formalities,  he  fired  twice  into  the  crowd. 
Out  they  went  then,  as  fast  as  they  had  come  in,  with  a 
couple  of  wounds  to  bind  up. 

Next,  after  much  talking  among  themselves,  they 
opened  a  brisk  fusillade  upon  the  house.  It  was  proposed 
to  tear  the  roof  off,  but  no  one  came  forward  to  do  it.  At 
length,  after  the  order  had  been  given  and  repeated 
several  times,  the  four  corners  of  the  building  were  set  on 
fire.  Walker  had  expected  his  neighbors  to  take  part 
with  him;  but  no  aid  appeared,  and  the  flames  mounted 
fast. 

'  We  shall  both  be  burned  to  death ;  shoot  me ! '  cried 
his  wife. 

Then  she  attempted  to  escape  by  the  stairs,  but  the 
smoke  almost  suffocated  her.  On  this,  laying  down  his 
weapons,  Walker  carried  her  to  the  window,  and  held  her 
by  the  shoulders  while  she  lowered  herself  as  far  as  she 
could,  clinging  to  the  window-sill. 

'  Mercy  !  Quarter  ! '  she  screamed  to  the  soldiers ;  and 
finally  one  of  them,  setting  a  ladder  against  the  wall, 
helped  her  down. 

Several  hours  had  passed  by  this  time ;  the  floor  Walker 
stood  upon  was  burning,  and,  as  the  soldiers  promised 
him  good  treatment,  he  surrendered. 

The  pledge,  however,  did  not  prove  to  mean  a  great 


398  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

deal.  For  some  time  the  hapless  pair  stood  with  bare  feet 
in  the  mud,  shivering  in  the  night  wind,  and  saw  their 
property  plundered  and  destroyed,  trunks  smashed, 
hogsheads  staved  in,  and  even  their  clothing  divided  up. 
The  leader  of  the  soldiers,  who  had  been  hit,  drew  a 
pistol  on  Walker.  At  last  a  sergeant  put  his  blanket-coat 
about  the  lady,  and  Walker  himself  obtained  a  coverlet. 
In  such  a  state,  they  journeyed  to  Montreal. 

At  the  beach,  Prescott — the  'cruel  rascal,'  as  Mont 
gomery  called  him84 — greeted  the  prisoner  in  red  wrath, 
and  ordered  him  pinioned. 

'You're  a  traitor  and  a  villain,  you  scoundrel,  to  betray 
your  country!'  he  cried,  with  much  more  in  the  same 
style. 

'What  is  my  crime?'  demanded  Walker. 

'  Your  crime  is  high  treason  and  rebellion ;  and  we  will 
show  you  what  military  justice  is,'  replied  the  General, 
adding  to  an  officer,  '  Give  that  poor  unhappy  man  a 
straw  bed  in  No.  4  in  the  barracks ! ' 

This  meant  thirty-three  days  and  nights  of  solitary 
imprisonment  on  a  pallet  under  a  heavy  load  of  riveted 
irons.  Then,  on  a  stormy  day,  when  there  was  little 
danger  of  a  rescue,  Walker  was  taken  down  to  lyisotte's 
armed  schooner,  and  buried  in  the  hold. 

Another  lesson  had  now  been  given  the  public.  Carle- 
ton  had  made  good  his  words :  '  No  protection  shall  screen  a 
traitor.' 35  A  wealthy  merchant,  a  leading  citizen,  formerly 
— if  not  then — a  magistrate,  had  been  treated  like  a  felon 
for  opposing  the  government. 

Notable  indeed  were  the  results  of  Allen's  fiasco  and 
this  after-clap  together.  By  October  eighth,  Carleton  felt 
strong  enough  to  send  word  through  the  country  that 


34  Montg.  to  Mrs.  M.,  Oct.  6,  1775:  I/.  L,.  H[unt],  Biog.  Notes,  p.  15. 
3  s  Mrs.  Walker,  Journal. 


A  Warning  to  Traitors  399 

fifteen  men  out  of  every  hundred  must  take  up  arms;  and, 
to  encourage  them,  had  orders  given  out  and  posted  on  the 
church  doors,  commanding  those  who  stayed  at  home  to 
carry  on  the  farms  of  those  in  the  army  gratis.  'Canadians 
came  constantly  to  serve,'  recorded  Sanguinet  at  Montreal. 
Parishes  were  'daily  demanding  their  pardon,  and  taking 
arms  for  the  crown,'  noted  Brook  Watson.  Governor 
Tryon  rejoiced  to  hear,  by  way  of  Oswegatchie,  that 
'great  Numbers'  were  enlisting.  Sixty-seven  gathered 
at  Three  Rivers,  and  went  ninety  miles  up  the  St.  Law 
rence  to  join  the  army  at  Montreal.  Montgolfier  sent 
Briand  word  that  *  all  the  parishes'  were  hastening  to  offer 
their  services.  At  least  nine  hundred  Canadians  assembled ; 
and  the  Governor  made  up  his  mind  to  station  them  in  an 
intrenched  camp  at  Chambly,  behind  which  it  seemed 
likely  that  many  more  would  gather.  The  tide  has  turned,, 
thought  every  friend  of  the  government.36 


36§Carleton  to  Dartmouth,  Oct.  25,  1775:  Note  21.  Quebec  Gazette, 
Oct.  19, 1775.  Verreau,  Invasion,  pp.  53-57  (Sanguinet);  pp.  169,  170  (Badeaux). 
Watson  to  Gov.  Franklin,  Oct.  iq,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  1601.  Stevenson  to  Tryon, 
Nov.  5,  1775  :  Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Am.  and  W.  I.,  Vol.,  185,  p.  705.  Montgolfier  to 
Briand  [Oct.  28, 1775]:  Can.  Arch.  Precis  of  Oper. 


XIV 
EBB  AND  FLOW 

THE  Canadians,  it  has  been  said,  were  no  timid  folk, 
but  by  origin  and  by  training  a  martial  race ;  and 
it  is  true  that,  like  all  of  Gallic  blood,  they  possessed  a 
soldierly  instinct  which  their  old  feudal  regime  had  more  or 
less  developed.  Indeed,  General  Carleton  described  their 
troops  as  acting  in  the  French  and  Indian  War  'with  as 
much  valor,  with  more  zeal,  and  more  military  knowledge 
[of  the  kind  available]  for  America,  than  the  Regular 
Troops  of  France,  that  were  joined  with  them.1  Such 
facts  would  lead  one  to  suppose  that,  when  the  Ameiicans 
entered  Canada  in  force  and  precipitated  a  crisis,  the  people 
would  act  on  one  side  or  the  other  with  decision  and 
spirit. 

But  the  situation  was  peculiar.  The  Frenchman  has 
always  fought  well,  when  stirred  to  the  heart;  but,  in  this 
quarrel  between  two  sets  of  Englishmen,  his  passions — 
though  not  dead — were  torpid,  like  the  compass  needle 
between  two  equal  balls  of  iron.  Trained,  no  doubt  the 
Canadians  had  been,  under  French  rule ;  but  for  fifteen 
years  they  had  never  seen  a  foe,  and  their  militia  drills 
were  probably  like  most  of  that  name.  Few  under  the 
age  of,  say,  thirty-four  had  known  actual  service,  and 
those  above  that  limit  were  men  with  families,  remember 
ing  only  too  well  what  they  suffered  in  the  late  war.  The 


i  Carleton  to  Shelburne,  Nov.  25, 1767:  Can.  Arch.,  Report  for  1888,  p.  41. 
400 


The  Canadians  as  Soldiers  401 

old  regime  was  detested ;  the  old  discipline  that  went  with 
it  gratefully  forgotten ;  and  the  whole  people — '  living 
Comfortably  on  their  farms,'  as  Caldwell  put  it,  '&  enjoy 
ing  the  sweets  of  peace' — looked  now  quite  far  from 
military.2 

Nor  did  it  follow,  in  spite  of  Carleton's  apparent  mean 
ing,  that  Canadian  warriors  were  very  Spartans  even 
when  they  campaigned — as  in  the  French  and  Indian 
War — for  home,  flag,  language,  race,  and  religion. 
Sometimes,  for  instance  in  the  battle  against  Murray, 
they  did  well ;  and  under  cover  they  almost  always  gave 
a  good  account  of  themselves.  But  the  French  leader 
seems  to  have  been  prevented  from  attacking  his  great 
enemy  by  distrust  of  his  militia ;  Wolfe  wrote  his  mother 
that  Montcalm  had  an  army  of  '  bad  soldiers ' ;  after  their 
General's  fall,  the  Canadians  fled  from  Beauport  so  fast 
that  Levis  exclaimed,  *  I  never  in  my  life  knew  the  like  of 
it' ;  they  deserted  Bourlamaque  'by  scores  and  hundreds'  ; 
and  substantially  all  of  them  abandoned  Vaudreuil  before 
the  capitulation  of  Montreal  ended  the  war.  Since  that 
sad  event,  their  greatest  battle  had  been  the  skirmish  at 
Longue  Pointe.  Apparently,  it  was  Dugan's  promise  of 
fifteen  pence  a  day  and  a  chance  to  plunder,  that  drew  most 
of  Allen's  Canadians  across  the  St.  lyawreuce  on  that  occa 
sion;  and,  when  it  came  to  fighting,  the  great  majority  of 
them  vanished.3 

After  all,  however,  it  was  not  mainly  a  question  of 
martial  qualities,  but  a  problem  of  politics;  and  the  very 
lions  of  Mycenae  might  have  vacillated,  while  snuffing 


2  §  Rememb. :  Quebec  letter,  Aug.  20.  1775  (4  Force,  III.,  an).    Caldwell  to 
— ,  May — ,  1775:  MSS.  of  Marq.  of  I,ansdowne,  Vol.  66,  fo.  q-j.    (To  same 
efiect,  [Gamble],  July  20,  1775:  Can.  Arch.,  B,  20,  p.  8).    REMARK  XXIV. 

3§Parkman,  Montcalm,  II.,  pp.  22-1,  260,  26g,  312,  350,  365,  372;  I,evis, 
Journal,  p.  303.  Dugan's  promise:  Quebec  letter,  Oct.  i",  1775  (4  Force,  III., 
924),  and  other  accounts  of  the  affair.  Further  evidences  in  support  of  this 
paragraph  will  appear  later. 

VOL.  I.  — 26. 


402  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

thirstily  this  way  and  that  way  for  the  breath  of  some 
refreshing  pool. 

On  the  one  hand,  the  Canadians  knew  that  law   and 

religion  bound  them  to  the  British;  and  both  gratitude 

and  habit  drew  the   same   way.     But   on   the   other,  a 

variety  of  motives  led  them  toward  the  Colonies.     They 

were  still  afraid  of  the  seigneurs.     They  suspected  the 

Quebec  Act  and  the  government  which  it  represented. 

They  distrusted  the  Bishop,  who  seemed  like  a  British 

agent,  paid  to  drag  them  into  a  war  they  cared  only  to 

avoid.      They  objected  strongly  to  being  cuffed  about  by 

the  regulars.     The  Colonials  made  fair  speeches  and  laid 

them  on  every  doorstep.4      Friendly  overtures  from  the 

Grand  Continental  Congress  wore  a  complimentary  and 

agreeable  air.     The  term  'brothers'  had  a  pleasant  ring. 

It  was  a  war  of  Colonials,  and   Canada  was  a  colony. 

'  Freedom !'  cried  the  embattled  host;  and  Captain  Gamble 

observed,    'The   Canadians  talk  of  that  damned  absurd 

word  liberty.'     'Emissaries  from  the  rebels  have  made 

them  believe  that  they  are  only  come  into  the  country  to 

protect  them  from  heavy  taxes,'  ?  gentleman  in  Quebec 

discovered;  certainly   James  Livingston  did   assure  the 

Canadians,  '  our  friends  the  Bostonians  are  trying  to  make 

us  Masters  of  our  Property  by  abolishing  Taxes  that  it 

is  proposed  to  Lay  upon  us ;'  and,  as  British  merchants 

pointed  out,  the  Colonies  had  already  done  something  in 

that  way  by  putting  an  end  to  the  costly  stamped  paper. 

'Rights'  meant  a  dogma  that  Walker  and  his  party  had 

made  welcome   to   Canadian  ears;    and  Livingston   and 

Dugan  sent  word  to  the  parish  captains  all  the  way  down 

to  Quebec,  that  Schuyler's  troops  were  laboring  for  the 

perpetuation  of  their  property  '  and  every  other  Right.' 

Mixed    with    these   ideas,  fantastic    notions    crept    like 

4  Carleton  !to  Dartmouth,   Aug.  14,  1775:    Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Colon.  Corres., 
Quebec,  n,  p.  347. 


Motives  of  the  Canadians 


403 


strange  epidemics  among  the  peasants.  Some  imagined 
that  a  number  of  transports,  really  at  Quebec  for  pro 
visions,  were  lying  in  wait  there  to  carry  the  people  into 
exile.  Some  believed  they  had  been  sold  to  the  Spaniards, 
whom  they  abominated,  and  that  General  Carleton  had 
the  price  in  his  pocket ;  while  others  felt  it  would  not  be 
French  politeness  to  molest  the  good  Provincials  who 
addressed  them  so  courteously.6 

Certain  of  the  Canadians,  for  one  or  another  of  these 
reasons,  doubtless 
planted  themselves 
firmly  on  the  Ameri 
can  side,  as  did  others 
on  the  side  of  the 
government;  but  evi 
dently  the  appearance 
of  things  did  not  as 
yet  suggest  a  deter 
mined  and  enthusias 
tic  popular  uprising. 
The  inner  facts  told 
the  same  tale.  It  was 
only  'promises  to 
them  of  your  men 
coming,'  wrote  James 
Livingston  to  Schuy- 
ler,  which  enabled  JOHN  HANCOCK 

him     to     raise    three 
hundred  volunteers.     '  I  am  almost  harasted  to  death,'  he 


5  §  Regulars :  Liv.  Journal,  Oct.  19;  Wharton  to  Wharton,  Aug.  4,  1775  (Roy 
Hist.  MSS.  Comm.,  Rep.  XL,  App.  5,  p.  383).  N.  Y.  letter,  EJssex  Gazette, 
Sept.  14,1775.  Gamble  to  Shirreff,  Sept.  6,  1775:4  Force,  III.,  962.  Quebec 
letter,  Aug.  20,  1775:  ib.,  211.  J.  Liv.  to  —  — ,  Sept.  18,  1775  (in  French)':  Can. 
Arch.,  Q,  ii,  p.  252.  Verreau  (Sanguinet),  Invasion,  p.  20.  J.  Liv.  and  Dugan, 
circular  letter,  Sept.  16,  1775 :  Can.  Arch.,  Q,  n,  p.  255.  Hey  to  Chancellor,  Aug. 
28,  1775:  Pub.  Rec.  Off,  Colon.  Corres.,  Quebec,  12,  p.  365.  Verreau  (Badeaux), 
Invasion,/a.Mz'»z.  Henry  Liv.  (Journal,  Oct.  19)  testified  that  they  were  still 
very  much  opposed  to  the  French  laws. 


404  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

added,  (not  having  Slept  six  hours  this  Week  past.  .  .  . 
I  shall  still  keep  up  their  Spirits  with  all  the  Eloquence  I 
am  Master  of.'  Plainly  some  galvanism  was  needful  to 
stir  the  people  to  action,  and  even  to  hold  them  in  the 
line.  'As  I  have  begun  a  Warr,  must  continue  or  fly  the 
Country,'— this  pointed  the  same  way.  All  that  Liv 
ingston  would  promise  before  he  found  himself  in  such 
a  dilemma  was,  'The  Canadians,  at  any  rate,  are  deter 
mined  not  to  take  up  arms  against  you' ;  and  Ethan  Al 
len,  while  riding  through  the  parishes  in  a  blaze  of  glory 
that  Elijah  might  have  coveted,  had  to  report  'under  my 
hand,  upon  honour':  they  'are  now  anxiously  watching 
the  scale  of  power.  This  is  the  situation  of  affairs  in 
Canada,  according  to  my  most  painful  discovery.'6 

As  Allen  intimated,  the  vital  influence  behind  all  dis 
guises  was  fear.  By  force  the  French  government  had 
ruled  in  Canada,  and  by  fire  and  steel  England  had  con 
quered  the  land.  'They  were  obedient  only  because 
they  were  afraid  to  be  otherwise,'  was  the  conclusion 
of  Chief-Justice  Hey,  '&  with  that  fear  lost  (by  withdraw 
ing  the  troops)  is  gone  all  the  good  disposition  that  we 
have  so  often  and  steadily  avowed  in  their  names.'7 
Desiring  to  be  let  alone,  to  enjoy  their  homes  and  farms, 
to  smoke,  laugh,  dance,  and  gossip,  what  they  queried  in 
their  hearts  was,  Which  can  hurt  us  most;  which  will 
protect  us  best?  and  here  once  more  the  case  looked 
dubious.  Terrible,  no  doubt,  was  the  roar  of  the  British 
lion ;  and  under  his  paw  the  fair  lilies  of  France  had 
been  crushed  into  the  mire  of  the  battlefield.  But  the 
Colonies,  too,  were  English;  they  had  youth,  energy, 
ambition;  they  were  close  at  hand;  they  talked  high; 
and  thus  far  they  had  swept  the  field. 

6  §  J.  I,iv.  to  Sch.,  Sept.  15  [  ?  ],  1775 :  Sch.  Papers.  Id.  to  Id.,  Sept.  8,  1775 :  4 
Force,  III.,  74o.  Allen  to  Sch.,  Sept.  14,  1775 :  ib.,  742.  See  also  Id.  to  Id.,  Sept. 
8,  1775:  Sch.  Papers. 

t  Hey :  Note  5. 


Motives  of  the  Canadians  405 

When  Carleton  ordered  fifteen  men  out  of  a  hundred  in 
every  parish  to  take  up  arms,  almost  all  refused  to  obey 
Why? 

Michel  Guillette  of  Vercheres  told  under  oath  the  next 
day  why  the  militia  of  his  village  did  not  march.  Joseph 
Casavant  had  come  that  morning  from  Chambly,  and 
'spread  a  report  that  one  Testreau,  a  partisan  of  the 
rebels,  had  shown  him  an  order  from  their  chief  at  St. 
Charles,  ordering  Testreau  to  put  himself  at  the  head  of 
a  hundred  and  fifty  men,  and  take  three  men  prisoners ; 
so  that  they  feared  Testreau  would  pillage  their  houses  if 
they  left  home.'  Possibly  there  was  ground  for  the  fear. 
'The  Rebels  have,  in  every  Parish  on  their  Road,  plundered 
the  Houses  and  Farms  of  all  the  Gentlemen  and 
Habitants,  that  had  joined  the  King's  Forces,'  Cramahe 
asserted;  and  very  possibly  he  knew  of  some  cases. 
Indeed,  nothing  else  could  have  been  expected,  perhaps. 
If  arguments  in  terrorem  had  been  used  in  the  green  tree, 
could  they  be  forgotten  in  the  dry?  8 

After  Livingston  and  Dugan  had  induced  six  parishes 
on  the  Richelieu  River  to  declare  for  the  Colonies,  officers 
of  the  royal  militia  and  a  few  leading  farmers  tried  to 
win  them  back;  and,  the  fifteenth  of  September,  the 
parish  of  St.  Denis  asked  Carleton  to  grant  it  a  pardon,  on 
the  condition  of  returning  to  duty  within  three  days. 
The  Governor  consented,  and  sent  down  Monsieur  Oriet, 
a  merchant  of  Montreal,  with  a  proclamation;  but  Allen 
and  Livingston,  with  twenty  Americans  and  as  many 
Canadians,  took  Oriet  prisoner,  and  the  movement  ended. 
Still,  Oriet  believed  that  'the  Canadians  in  general  were 
well  affected  to  Government  especially  those  on  the 
North  Side  of  the  River  St.  Lawrence  including  the 

8  §  Verreau  (Badeaux),  Invasion,  p.  160.  Guillette  (in  French),  Oct.  9,  1775: 
Can.  Arch.,  Q,  n,  p.  309.  Cramah£  to  Dartmouth,  Sept.  20,  1775:  Pub  Rec  Off 
Colon.  Corres.,  Quebec,  n,p.  413. 


406  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

Inhabitants  of  Montreal,  and  would  cheerfully  join  in 
attacking  the  Provincials' ;  but  he  added  this:  'provided 
there  were  a  sufficient  Number  of  the  King's  Troops  in 
the  Province  to  support  them  in  case  of  a  defeat'  ;  and 
Cramahe  expressed  the  opinion  that  'some  Troops,  and  a 
Ship  of  War  or  two,  would  in  all  likelihood  have  pre 
vented  this  general  Defection.'9 

The  simple  fact  was  that  the  Canadians  had  fallen  into 
a  tight  place,  between  the  upper  and  the  nether  millstones 
of  circumstance ;  and  many  wriggled  any  way  they  could, 
to  relieve  the  pressure.  'It  is  a  melancholy  prospect,'  so 
Mott  unburdened  himself,  *  to  see  that  all  Canada  is  in  one 
continued  scene  of  war  and  bloodshed.  If  we  don't  carry 
our  point,  we  have  brought  Canada  into  the  most  deplor 
able  condition  possible  to  conceive. '  Carleton  viewed  the 
situation  with  equal  sympathy:  'I  cannot  blame  these 
poor  People  for  securing  themselves,  as  they  see  Multi 
tudes  of  the  Bnemy  at  hand,  and  no  Succour  from  any 
Part.'  But  nobody  had  a  keener  sense  of  their  danger 
than  the  Canadians  themselves;  and,  wrote  Montgomery 
to  his  wife,  they  were  extremely  fearful  lest  the  Americans, 
failing  in  their  campaign,  should  leave  them  exposed  to 
the  vengeance  of  the  government.  As  the  natural  con 
sequence  of  all  this,  Pierre  and  Jacques  seemed  very  far 
indeed  from  decided  and  courageous,  and  even  a  clergy 
man  pronounced  this  verdict:  'their  timidity  [is]  very 
excessive.'10 

In  such  a  state  of  things,  the  effect  of  Allen's  collapse 
upon  Montgomery's  allies  could  not  fail  to  be  great  and 
immediate.  •  'His  Defeat  hath  put  the  french  people  in  to 

9  §  Oriet,  in  Tryon's  of  Nov.  n,  1775:  Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Am.  and  W.  I.,  Vol. 
185,  p.  693.  Proc. :  Cont.  Cong.  Papers,  letters,  I,,  78,  p.  n.  Cramahe  to  Dart 
mouth,  Sept.  21,  1775:  Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Colon.  Corres.,  Quebec,  n,  p.  397. 

10  §S.  Mott  to  Trumbull,  Oct.  6,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  972.  Carleton  to  Gage, 
Sept.  16,  1775:  Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Am.  and  W.  I.,  Vol.  130,  p.  673.  Montg.,  Oct. 
6,  1775:  I/.  I/.  H[unt],  Biog.  Notes,  p.  12.  Ripley  to  J.  Wheelock,  Mar.  7,  1776 
Wheelock  Papers. 


The  Canadians  Appear  Fickle          407 

grate  Constarnation,'  reported  Seth  Warner  instantly. 
( This,  if  true,  is  a  blow  upon  us,'  was  Livingston's  quick 
prognostication.  Montgomery  took  all  possible  pains  to 
please  them.  '  I  hope, '  he  wrote  Bedel,  '  I  hope  there  is  the 
strictest  discipline  kept  up,  that  our  Friends  may  have  no 
reason  to  complain  of  us.'  'The  Canadians  complain 
that  your  Commissary  treats  them  roughly,'  his  aide-de 
camp,  Macpherson,  sent  word  to  the  same  officer  a  few 
days  after  Allen's  fall;  'The  General  desires  that  they 
may  be  kindly  treated,  and  those  employed  supplied  with 
provisions.'  Yet  soon  these  favored  people  were  in  a 
state  of  eruption ;  and  Bedel  sent  hastily  for  two  cannon 
to  quell  them.  *  The  mutiny  of  the  Canadians  I  treat  as 
a  joke,'  answered  Montgomery,  'nor  do  I  see  how  two 
pieces  of  cannon  should  change  their  minds  if  it  were  so' ; 
but  he  took  pains  to  send  both  guns  and  ammunition. 
'  The  Canadians  seemed  to  grow  cool  and  fearful,  and 
some  went  off,'  noted  Trumbull  in  his  diary  at  this  time; 
and  Montgomery  informed  Schuyler  three  or  four  days 
later,  '  Our  feebleness  has  intimidated  the  Canadians  from 
embarking  in  so  uncertain  an  adventure.'  In  fact,  even 
those  who  stood  by  him  became  'exceedingly  uneasy,' 
and  made  him  promise  to  '  take  care  of  all  those  who  were 
afraid  to  remain  in  the  country,'  should  the  American 
army  give  up  the  enterprise.11 

Yet,  however  the  Canadians  annoyed  Montgomery,  they 
troubled  Carleton  even  more.  Lanaudiere  arrived  at  Ber- 
thierin  high  feather,  with  about  seventy  recruits,  en  route 
for  Montreal;  but  the  people  of  that  parish  seized 
him,  and  his  followers — evidently  unwilling  conscripts — 


n  §  Warner  to  Montg.,  Sept.  27,  1775:  Sparks  MSS.,  No.  49,  II.,  p.  129.  J. 
I,iv.  to  Montg.,  Sept.  27,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  952.  S.  Mott  to  Trutnbull,  Oct.  6, 
1775:  ib.,  972.  Montg.  to  Bedel,  Sept.  20,  1775:  Myers  Coll.  Mac.  to  Bedel,  Sep. 
29,  1775:  Saffell,  Records,  p.  21.  Montg.  to  Bedel,  Oct.  2,  1775:  Emmet  Coll. 
Trumbull,  Journal,  Oct.  2.  Montg.  to  Sch.,  Oct.  6,  13,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  ioos, 
1097.  Id.  to  J.  lyiv.,  Oct.  12,  1775:  Cont.  Cong.  Papers,  41,  V.,p.  258. 


FROM    MONTGOMERY'S   LETTER 


408 


TO   BEDEL,  SEPT.    25,   1775 


409 


4io  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

immediately  dispersed.  '  You  have  bagged  fine  game  to 
day,'  sang  out  the  women  gleefully  to  their  insurgent 
husbands  when  they  brought  in  the  aristocrat.12 

Worse  yet  fared  Rigauville  on  the  same  business.  Land 
ing  with  a  hundred  and  forty  armed  followers  at  Ver- 
cheres,  he  found  the  men  of  the  town  had  taken  flight; 
and,  in  the  hope  of  bringing  them  within  reach,  his  party 
'made  as  if  they  would  seize  the  women  and  children:' 
Back  the  men  came  then,  in  fact;  but  only  to  threaten 
that,  unless  the  soldiers  went  away  immediately,  they 
would  notify  the  Provincials.  Rigauville  merely  laughed ; 
and  his  party  made  light  of  them.  Between  four  and  five 
o'clock  the  next  morning,  sixty  'Bostonians'  rushed  into 
the  village.  The  soldiers  fled  to  their  boats  and  got  off; 
but  Rigauville,  running  after  them  half-dressed,  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  'rebels.' 

Indeed,  the  effect  of  Allen's  mishap  soon  lost  its 
edge.  Carleton's  nine  hundred  Canadians  began  to 
drop  off  'thirty  or  forty  of  a  night,'  as  he  confessed;  and 
he  soon  found  himself  approaching  '  as  forlorn  a  State  as 
before.' 

In  two  words,  then,  Jacques  and  Pierre  had  now  made 
up  their  minds  about  the  government;  but,  as  for  the 
Colonies,  they  were  merely  willing  to  be  convinced. 
Obey  the  Bishop,  serve  the  lords,  and  swallow  the  Quebec 
Act  they  would  not ;  yet  they  felt  a  doubt  whether  all  the 
fine  speeches  of  the  Colonials  would  make  a  solid  wall. 
Toward  Carleton  they  were  positive;  toward  Montgomery 
greatly  inclined,  so  far  as  they  dared,  to  be  negative. 
Brook  Watson  reckoned  nine-tenths  of  them  as  disloyal, 
but  probably  the  most  sanguine  Colonial  did  not  count 


Rec. 

g'uin 

(Can.  Arch  );'Sch.  to  Wash.,  Nov.  6,  1775  (4  Force,  III.,  1373). 


The  Real  Position  of  the  Canadians      411 

on  anything  like  that  fraction  as  real  allies.  *  The  Cana 
dians  in  general  have  our  success  extremely  at  heart,'  said 
the  American  general;  but  the  feeling  was  anxiety 
instead  of  zeal;  it  sprang  rather  from  disloyalty  toward 
Britain  than  devotion  to  America ;  it  meant  an  uneasy 
conscience  more  than  a  warm  heart;  it  confessed  they  had 
compromised  rather  than  announced  they  had  committed 
themselves;  it  spoke  of  fear  more  than  of  hope;  and 
many — if  not  most — had  the  arriere penste  of  the  captain 
at  La  Tours,  who  swore  fidelity  to  the  Provincial  cause 
two  or  three  times,  and  then  joined  the  regulars  with  his 
company.13 

This  was  no  doubt  an  illogical  position,  like  the  verdict 
of  many — especially  on  the  more  intuitive  side  of  the 
house  —  when  a  famous  trial  for  alleged  misconduct 
occurred,  that  the  parson  was  innocent  but  the  woman 
guilty;  and  yet,  like  the  verdict,  it  could  not  really  be 
called  absurd.  A  bridge  is  as  rational  as  a  house;  and 
this  attitude  was  a  bridge. 

Already  rebels  against  Great  Britain — rebels  in  word  and 
in  act — the  Canadians  could  find  but  one  logical  port,  the 
Union  of  the  Colonies.  'I  could  wish  this  Province  was 
already  united  to  the  others,  and  cannot  expect  much 
peace  till  that  takes  place' :  these  words  of  James  Living 
ston's  merely  pointed  out  the  path  which  slower  minds 
would  naturally  stumble  into  before  long.14  Instruction 
in  the  principles  and  methods  of  free  government,  friendly 
intercourse  with  the  Colonials,  and  the  growth  of  con 
fidence,  were  the  simple  needs  of  the  case.  Then  the 
bridge  would  insensibly  be  crossed  ;  the  Canadians  would 
commit  themselves  too  far  to  draw  back;  their  feelings 


1 3  §  Watson  to  Butler,  Oct.  19,  1775 :  4  Force  III.,  1600.    Motitg.  to  R.  R.  Liv., 
Oct.  5,  [1775]:  Liv.  Papers,  1775-1777,  p.  51.    J.  Liv.  to  Montg.,  Nov.  3,  1775.  4 
Force,  III.,  1341. 

14  J.  I,iv.  to  Montg.,  Sept.  27,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  952. 


412   Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

would  blow  into  a  heat;  and  Canada  would  enter  the 
Union, — body,  mind,  and  heart. 

Greatest  of  these  needs  was  confidence,  and  confidence 
hinged  first  of  all  on  the  fate  of  St.  Johns.  'If  this 
place  be  taken,'  said  Allen,  'the  country  is  ours;  if  we 
miscarry  in  this,  all  other  achievements  will  profit  but 
little ' ;  and  Schuyler  with  no  less  emphasis  de 
clared  :  *  unless  we  succeed  against  St.  Johns,  all  other 
operations  in  that  Quarter  will  avail  little,' — one  more 
case  where  extremes  have  met.  Nobody  understood  this 
better  than  Montgomery ;  nobody  could  have  been  more 
anxious  to  satisfy  and  convince  the  people;  yet  he  found 
himself  constantly  hindered  by  difficulties  so  grave  that,  as 
a  private  letter  admitted,  they  worried  him  'almost  to 
death/  and  in  consequence  the  siege  dragged.15 

'To  my  sorrow  I  say  it  want  of  spirit,'  thus  he  stated 
one  of  his  troubles.  This  was  by  no  means  the  first 
charge  of  the  sort  against  Colonial  troops.  In  the 
House  of  Lords  they  were  bluntly  described  by  the  Earl 
of  Sandwich  as  cowards;  and  the  patriot  Warren,  though 
eager  to  champion  his  countrymen,  felt  able  only  to  say, 
'I  will  venture  to  assert  that  there  has  not  been  any  great 
alloy  of  cowardice,  though  both  friends  and  enemies  seem 
to  suspect  us  of  want  of  courage. '  Schuyler,  to  be  sure, 
before  the  operations  began,  expressed  a  certain  con 
fidence :  'Bravery,  I  believe,  they  are  far  from  want 
ing  ' ;  but  no  doubt  he  felt  like  saying,  as  James  Van 
Rensselaer,  his  aide-de-camp,  did  say,  that  their  con 
duct  on  the  second  trip  to  St.  Johns  was  'such  as  I 
should  Blush  to  name  it.'  Montgomery,  for  his  part, 
had  not  been  over-sanguine  :  '  If  they  will  fight,'  he  wrote ; 
and  Thomas  I^ynch  undoubtedly  told  the  truth  when 


1 5  §  Allen  to  Montg.,  Sept.  20,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  754.  Sch.  to  [N.  Y  Cong  ] 
Sept.  29,  1775:  Sparks  MSS.,  No.  29,  p.  266.  Montg.  to  R.  R.  I4v.,  Oct.  5  [1775!: 
I,iv.  Papers,  1775-1777,  P-  SL 


The  Americans  as  Soldiers  413 

•saying  to  Schuyler,  'his  Feelings  must  have  [been]  truly 
accute  when  he  saw  them  running  away  from  them 
selves.'16 

After  this  affair,  which  their  leader  knew  how  to  pre 
sent  in  its  fitting  light,  the  men  appeared  contrite;  but 
heroism  lagged  a  little  even  then.  '  How  this  enterprise 
will  succeed,  God  only  knows ;  but  I  still  have  hopes  to  see 
you  and  all  my  friends  once  more  in  New  York,'  was  the 
timorous  message  of  an  officer,  as  he  embarked  for  the 
next  voyage  to  St.  Johns.  *  For  God's  sake,  pray  send 
me  a  party  of  Haston's  regiment,'  cried  the  demonstrative 
Bedel  on  a  mere  rumor  of  danger.  A  captain  of  the  First 
Yorkers  ran  from  the  mortar  battery  one  night ,  and,  on 
reaching  camp,  gave  Montgomery  a  formal  report  that 
British  troops  had  overpowered  the  works,  and  his  men 
had  left  him ;  but,  about  an  hour  later,  his  lieutenant 
appeared  with  something  like  half  of  the  party,  and 
admitted  that  nobody  had  attacked  the  post.  '  You 
know  we  take  good  care  of  ourselves,'  observed  the 
General.17 

Isolated  cases  of  poltoonery  proved  nothing,  of  course; 
but  evidently  there  seemed  to  be  a  rather  prevalent  want 
of  spirit.  And  yet  whoever  drew  a  harsh  conclusion 
from  the  appearances  made  a  great  mistake.  It  was 
really  what  Montgomery  said, — taking  good  care  of 
oneself. 

To  Kuclid  the  whole  seemed  greater  than  a  part,  but  not 
so  to  Kuclid' s  gardener.  The  untrained  individual  has 
always  looked  upon  himself  as  more  important  than 


16  §  Montg.  to  R.  R.  Iviv.:  Note  15.  Sandwich:  4  Force,  I.,  1681.  Froth- 
ingham,  Warren  (to  A.  L,ee,  Feb.  20,  1775),  p.  418.  Sen.  to  Wash.,  July  18,  1775: 
4  Force,  II.,  1685.  Van.  R.  :  Bonney,  Gleanings,  I.,  p.  45  (his  office :  '  Montg.'s  ' 
Ord.  Book,  Sept.  10,  1775).  Montg.  to  R.  R.  Liv.,  Aug.  6,  1775: 1/iv.  Papers,  1775- 
J777)  P-  47-  Lynch,  Nov.  n,  1775  :  Emmet  Coll 

i  ?  §  Sch.  to  Wash.,  Sept.  20,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  751.  N.  Y.  Officer,  Sept.  17, 
1775:  ib.,  726.  Bedel  to  Montg.,  Sept.  28,  1775:  ib.,  354.  N.  Y.  Capt.:  Montg.  to 
Sch.,  Sept.  24,  1775  (ib.,  840); ^Montg.'s  '  Ord.  Book,  Oct.  6. 


414  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

all  the  world  besides;  and  out  of  this  feeling  grew  the 
proverb,  'Self-preservation  is  the  first  law  of  nature.' 
For  creatures  full  of  dear  life  to  march  out  into  the  open, 
proclaiming,  '  Here  I  am ;  kill  me ! '  for  a  physical  body 


•    ..;  ':  ••*&&:. 


ON    THE    RICHELIEU 


compacted  often  million  nerves,  each  fitted  with  a  tongue 
of  agony,  to  cry,  '  Rip  up  the  tenderest  mesh  of  my  being, 
if  you  like!' — this,  by  itself,  could  only  be  called  madness. 
Besides,  common-sense  has  always  pointed  out,  with  a  sly 
wink,  that 

'  he  who  fights  and  runs  away 

May  live  to  fight  another  day.' 


The  Americans  as  Soldiers  415 

To  pass  from  this  natural  view  of  war  to  the  scientific 
view — a  complete  sacrifice  of  the  individual  to  the  mass — 
has  demanded  nothing  less  than  uprooting  consciousness 
itself.  Men  have  had  to  acquire  a  new  consciousness, — a 
sense  of  the  whole.  They  have  had  to  learn  the  art  of 
regarding  self  with  the  aloofness  of  a  geometer,  and  fall 
willingly  if  only  the  line  sweep  on.  By  means  of  drills, 
uniforms,  and  other  devices,  military  art  has  been  able  to 
achieve  this  miracle,  for  long  ago  it  caught  the  secret  of 
training  each  man  to  act — and  therefore  to  think  of  him 
self — as  an  insignificant  fraction  of  a  corps ;  and  where, 
as  in  Kurope,  such  a  training  prevailed  for  many 
centuries,  this  idea  became  familiar  and  in  a  sense 
hereditary. 

Totally  different  had  it  been  in  America.  Adventure, 
freedom,  individuality  had  been  the  very  life  of  coloniza 
tion.  The  forest,  the  winds,  the  unfettered  streams,  all 
summoned  the  spirit  of  the  settler  to  cast  off  its  bonds; 
and  each  man's  bit  of  wilderness  challenged  him  to  single 
combat.  Everything  was  individual,  and  the  individual 
was  everything.  When  war  came,  it  was  mostly  with  an 
enemy  that  followed  the  strategy  of  nature,  sheltering 
himself  behind  the  trees,  creeping  in  the  shadows,  hid 
ing,  fleeing,  returning;  and  such  awful  experiences  as 
Kdward  Braddock's  pointed  gory  fingers  of  scorn  at  the 
notions  of  '  regular'  fighting.  To  expect  the  Colonials  of 
1775  to  fall  readily  into  those  very  notions,  after  so  long 
and  stern  a  training  in  the  other  school,  was  truly 
absurd ;  and  it  was  the  more  so  because  even  the  officers 
lacked  very  often  that  '  point  of  honour'  and  '  knowledge 
of  the  world,'  which  might  have  brought  them,  and 
through  them  the  troops,  somewhere  near  the  conven 
tional,  regular,  disciplined  style.18 


is  Montg.  to  Sch.,  Nov.  13,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  1602. 


4i 6  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

The  Americans  were  not  cowards.  The  awful  hand-to- 
hand  struggle  with  the  savage  required  not  merely  the 
courage  of  the  musket,  but  the  courage  of  the  knife.  In 
the  Narragansett  stockade,  at  the  Pequot  fort,  beside 
Ossipee  lake,  in  the  gloom  of  the  forest  and  in  the  dark 
ness  of  night,  prodigies  of  naked  valor  were  done  with 
out  flinching.  Dieskau,  telling  over  the  battle  of  Lake 
George,  said  that  his  foes,  the  Provincials,  fought  in  the 
morning  like  good  boys,  about  noon  like  men,  and  in  the 
afternoon  like  devils19: — cowards  would  have  run  away 
before  the  sun  grew  hot. 

At  St.  Johns,  it  was  only  the  morning  of  the  Revolu 
tionary  War.  The  troops  had  not  got  out  of  boyhood  in 
the  art  of  fighting.  Their  battle-cry  sounded  light  and 
piping.  But  their  voice  changed  rapidly.  It  soon  grew 
clear  and  deep  and  mighty;  they  came  to  realize  what  an 
Army  meant ;  and  by  and  by  a  still  greater  conscious 
ness — the  consciousness  of  a  Nation,  a  Nation  grand  in 
space,  duration,  and  power,  pressing  on  behind  them — 
made  sacrifice  reasonable  and  sublime.  Washington,  who 
at  first  had  looked  down  upon  the  northern  troops  from  the 
lofty  summit  of  his  ripened  gallantry,  learned  within  a 
year  to  lean  upon  them  20;  and  more  than  once,  emerging 
from  the  dust  and  smoke  like  a  Gibraltar  in  motion,  they 
proved  that  when  the  meaning  of  self- surrender  was  under 
stood,  they  could  offer  their  breasts  to  the  sword. 

Insubordination,  too,  made  trouble  at  St.  Johns, 
although,  fairly  considered,  it  was  only  the  shadow  of 
a  virtue. 

Man  has  been  described  as  a  thinking  animal,  and  these 
honest  fellows,  considering  themselves  quite  human,  felt 
entitled  to  cogitate.  Fresh,  too,  from  political  meetings 


19  Parkman,  Montcalm,  I.,  p.  310. 

2oi,odge,  Wash.,  II.,  p.  317  (with  ref.  to  N.  Eng.  troops).    See  A.  I,ee  to 
Franklin  (4  Force,  IV.,  1125)  for  strong  praise  of  N.  Eng.  men. 


The  Cause  of  Insubordination  417 

where  they  had  been  exhorted  to  reflect  upon  the  conduct 
of  Kis  Majesty,  they  could  not  easily  realize  that  a  far 
less  mighty  personage,  Bill  Johnson  by  name,  had  sud 
denly  risen  above  criticism,  because  they  had  chosen  him 
as  their  captain.  Finally,  were  they  not  struggling 
against  despotism  ?  and  how  could  little  tyrants  be  more 
respectable  than  a  great  one?  When  the  Committee  of 
Cumberland  County,  New  York,  appointed  field-officers 
for  its  troops,  the  people  of  Putney  protested:  '  This  we 
esteem  an  infringement  on  our  rights,  and  are  determined 
never  to  submit  to  tyranny,  for  which  our  country  now 
bleeds.'  The  idea  that  even  military  authority  came  from 
below,  not  from  above,  belonged  in  the  doctrine  of  the 


FORT  CHAMBLY   IN   1903 

hour.  *  I  shall  most  cheerfully  return  my  sword  to  the 
scabbard,'  remarked  Schuyler  himself,  'whenever  my 
constituents  shall  direct. '  '  License  they  mean  when  they 
cry  Liberty,'  frowned  Milton ;  but  this  was  not  fairly  true 
of  men  who  honestly  missed  the  delicate  and  waving  line 
between  the  two.  Doctrines,  like  persons,  have  always 
had  the  defects  of  their  qualities;  and  enthusiasm  for 
national  liberty  was  certain  to  boil  over  in  the  form  of 
personal  freedom.21 

2  i  §  Putney:  4  Force,  IV.,  429.     Sch.,  July  9,  i775:  4  Force,  III.,  1615 

VOL.     I. 27. 


4i 8  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

At  St.  Johns,  this  worked  out  as  might  have  been 
expected.  It  was  not  an  army,  but  a  town-meeting,  that 
besieged  the  fort;  and  it  followed  rather  than  obeyed 
Montgomery.  Very  naturally,  too,  the  New  Englanders 
made  the  chief  trouble  for  him  as  they  did  for  Lord 
North.  'There  is  such  an  equality  among  them,'  the 
General  found,  ' that  the  officers  have  no  authority.  .  .  . 
The  privates  are  all  generals' ;  and  he  described  them  as 
'troops,  who  carry  the  spirit  of  freedom  into  the  field,  and 
think  for  themselves.'  Unfortunate?  In  the  long  view, 
no;  this  was  only  the  primary  class  of  their  schooling, 
and  the  day  of  graduation  was  to  turn  out  that  pride  of 
American  armies, — the  '  thinking  bayonet.'  But  for  the 
time,  yes.22 

Colonial  aloofness  and  selfishness,  also,  made  trouble, 
as  they  had  so  many  times  before.  '  To  the  Honourable 
the  Governour  and  Company  of  the  English  Colony  of 
Connecticut,'  so  New  York  had  addressed  her  near  neigh 
bor  in  May,  as  if  writing  to  a  foreign  power.  Schuyler, 
Montgomery,  and  the  Yorkers  in  general  instinctively 
drew  away  from  the  New  Knglanders,  and  these  returned 
the  compliment  with  traditional  vigor.  General  Wooster 
officially  described  himself  as  'now  acting  in  conjunction 
with  the  Troops  of  the  other  Colonies'  ;  and  his  lieutenant- 
colonel,  when  at  Ticonderoga,  honestly  hesitated  to  obey 
an  order  that  came  to  him,  in  Wooster' s  absence,  directly 
from  Schuyler.23 

'For  all  the  pretensions  of  New- York,'  observed 
Samuel  Mott  at  St.  Johns,  '  there  has  not  been  one  head 
Colonel  of  a  Regiment  seen  in  the  Army  this  year ;  and 
out  of  their  three  thousand  five  hundred  men,  we  have 


22  §  Montg-.  to  R.  R.  I4v.:  Note  15.     Id. to  Sch.,  Oct.  13 :  4  Force,  III.,   1097. 

23  §  N.  Y.  Cong,  to  Conn.,  May  24,  1775:  4  Force,  II..  1248.     Montg.  to  R.  R. 
L,iv. :  Note  15.    Wooster  to  Sch.,  Oct.  19,  1775:  Sch.  Papers.     (See  also  Bedford's- 
letter:  Bossing:,  Sch.,  I.,  p.  436.)    Sch.  to  Hancock,  Oct.  18:  4  Force,  III.,  10^. 


Colonial  Aloofness  419 

never  had  more  than  six  hundred  down  here  until  within 
these  four  days,  there  have  come  down  between  two  and 
three  hundred  more.'  In  that  complaint  spoke  a  tradi 
tional  sentiment.  During  previous  wars,  each  Colony, 
suspecting  that  its  neighbors  would  shirk,  had  been 
disposed  to  hold  off,  and  had  taken  the  utmost  pains 
to  contribute  no  more — at  the  most — than  its  exact  due. 
When  Governor  Shirley  asked  Maryland  to  help  con 
ciliate  the  Iroquois,  that  Colony  replied  sharply:  We 
'cannot  with  any  Colour  of  Reason  burthen  the  people  of 
this  Province  upon  every  Suggestion  ...  of  Governors 
of  distant  Provinces,  who,  no  doubt,  would  ease  those 
under  their  respective  Governments,  at  the  Expense  of 
others ' ;  and  at  one  time  the  New  York  Assembly  refused 
to  build  forts,  as  a  defence  to  its  own  citizens  against 
invasion  from  the  north,  on  the  ground  that  other 
Colonies  would  share  in  the  benefit,  and  ought  likewise  to 
share  in  the  cost.  In  1775  the  leaders  were  rising  above 
such  narrow  views,  but  the  smaller  men  had  still  to  be 
educated.  To  find  their  much  larger  contingent  under 
the  command— indeed,  the  'tyranny'— of  New  York 
generals,  was  a  sort  of  Promethean  vulture  to  New  Eng 
land  vitals;  and  the  fact  that  officers  reported  directly 
to  their  Colonial  superiors  had  no  tendency  to  abolish 
jealousies.  Eventually,  the  General  Assembly  of  Con 
necticut  found  it  necessary  to  take  the  matter  up,  and  it 
had  to  pass  an  express  order,  near  the  close  of  the  cam 
paign,  that  all  the  troops  of  the  Colony  serving  in 
Canada  should  be  'subject  to  the  rules,  orders,  regula 
tions  and  discipline'  of  the  Continental  Congress.24 

Nor  did  the  men  from  different  sections  find  much  con 
solation  in  the  personal  character  of  their  associates. 

o  24TIS>  M(£  to  Trumbull>  Oct-  6>  1775:  Note  ii.  Park-man,  Montcalm  I.,  p. 
$18.  Id.,  Half  Century,  II.,  p.  208.  Md. :  Paltsits,  Scheme,  p  23  Reports- 
instances  already  given  in  the  footnotes.  Conn.  Assembly,  Oct  12  177=;  •  Trum- 
bull  Papers,  IV. 


42O  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

'  The  first  reg'  of  Yorkers  is  the  sweepings  of  the  York 
streets, '  confessed  Montgomery  in  private.     '  Offings  and 
outcasts'  was  the  description  that  Charles  Carroll  of  Car- 
rollton  had  of  them  on  the  spot  in  1776.     Chaplain  Trum- 
bull,  a  high-strung  minister  of  the  New  England  type, 
spoke  with  no  uncertain  sound  :  'Perhaps  there  never  was 
a  more  ill-governed  Profane  and  Wicked  army;'  though 
he  conscientiously  saved  the  case  by  adding,  '  among  a 
People  of  Such  Advantages.'     Men  who  took  their  chap 
lain  along  and  had  notice  of  divine  services  from  their 
colonel;  men  whose  consent  upheld  the  'Blue  Laws'  of 
Connecticut,    hardly    felt   safe  in   such    company.     The 
awful   doom   of  Sodom   and  Gomorrah   haunted   them. 
Colonel  Campbell,  formerly  in  the  British  service,  held 
the  post  of  Deputy  Quartermaster- General,  and  he  swore 
not  a  little.     'I   should   be  very    sorry   to   inform   your 
Honour,'  whispered   Mott,  as  with  averted  face,  to  his 
pious  Governor,   '  that  there  is  scarcely  a  word  heard  from 
headquarters,  without  some  oaths  and   curses  on  every 
occasion ;  but  I  value  myself  on  the  righteousness  of  the 
cause,  and   hope   in    God    for  success.'      On    the   other 
hand,  if  some    of   the  Yorkers  could    be    described   as 
reprobates,  they  had   no   doubt   a   sharp  retort   for   the 
criticism    of   their  more   devout  comrades.     No  canting 
hypocrites  were  they;  no  snivelling,  scheming  Pharisees; 
no  self-righteous  Puritans,  robbing  Peter   to   pay  Paul, 
and  serving  God  as  an  excuse  for  preying  upon  honest 
neighbors.25 

Mutual  distrust  was  inevitable  when  both  Colonies 
and  troops  pulled  apart ;  and  the  fact  that  no  clear  line 
had  yet  been  drawn  between  '  Patriots'  and  '  Tories'  greatly 
aided  to  promote  it.  All  joined  in  recognizing  Ihe  old 


25  §  Montg.  to  R.  R.  Liv.:  Note  15.  Carroll,  Journal,  p.  77.  Trumbull, 
Journal,  Nov.  6.  Waterbury's  Ord.  Book,  Sept.  30.  Campbell:  Journ.  Cong., 
July  17,  1775.  S.  Mott  to  Trumbull,  Oct.  6,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  972. 


Dread  of  Betrayal  421 

flag.  British  sympathizers  might  be  serving  honestly 
or — still  more  possible — dishonestly  in  the  ranks,  and  no 
touchstone  could  detect  them  as  yet.  The  higher  the  post 
and  the  greater  its  emoluments,  the  more  chance  that  some 
influential  traitor  had  got  into  it.  Revolution  is  a  general 
conspiracy,  and  conspirators  must  always  be  suspicious. 

In  fact,  the  dread  of  betrayal  had  a  substantial  basis. 
Hundreds  of  men  along  the  Mohawk  only  waited  the 
chance,  to  make  off  for  Canada  and  slip  into  red  coats. 
The  mayor  of  Albany  and  others  near  him  were  soon  to  be 
forwarding  secret  intelligence  to  Governor  Tryon,  if  they 
had  not  already  begun.  Private  information  for  the  British 
government  could  be  got  in  New  York  and  in  Phila 
delphia.  Canadian  Tories,  held  as  prisoners,  found  means 
to  send  valuable  news  where  it  was  most  needed.  At 
least  one  letter  from  Thomas  Lynch  to  Montgomery 
himself  went  across  the  Atlantic  to  the  British  ministry ; 
and,  among  the  officers  at  St.  Johns,  doubtless  Major 
Zedtwitz  was  not  the  only  budding  Judas.  In  June,  the 
Massachusetts  Congress  had  appointed  a  committee  'to 
inquire  into  the  grounds  of  a  report '  which  had  prevailed 
in  the  army,  that  some  of  the  officers  had  been  traitorous. 
The  chance  of  betrayal  made  valor  seem  almost  folly,  and 
the  dread  of  it  was  a  constant  argument  for  caution  and 
even  for  panic.  At  the  first  clash  with  the  enemy  after 
the  Americans  finally  returned  to  St.  Johns,  'The  old  story 
of  treachery  spread  among  the  men,'  wrote  Montgomery; 
'we  were  trepanned,  drawn  under  the  guns  of  the  fort  and 
what  not.'26 

'I  do  assure  you,  I  have  envied  every  wounded  man 
who  has  had  so  good  an  apology  for  retiring, '  the  General 


2  6  §  Mayor,  I,ynch,  etc. :  Tryon's  letters,  Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Am.  and  W.  I.,  Vol. 
185,  pp.  515,557,  677;  Vol.  186,  pp.  39,  79,  228,  231,  233,  etc.  Zedtwitz:  Journ. 
Cong.,  Nov.  22,  1776.  Mass.:  4  Force,  II.,  1428.  Montg.  to  Sch.,  Sept.  19,  1775:4 
Force,  III.,  797. 


The  Canadian  Attitude  Promising        423 

told  a  near  relative  after  sketching  his  troubles27;  yet 
undoubtedly  the  faultiness  of  his  army  weighed  more  upon 
him  than  upon  any  one  else,  and  very  fortunately  it 
influenced  the  Canadians  far  less  than  might  have  been 
feared.  In  courage  and  in  discipline,  they  had  little 
ground  to  censure  their  visitors,  and  probably  few  pos 
sessed  the  insight  and  the  opportunity  for  a  close  analysis 
of  the  troops. 

On  the  other  hand,  minor  as  well  as  major  advantages 
from  standing  in  with  the  Americans  could  be  discovered. 
The  harvest  had  been  abundant;  but  the  extraordinary 
drought  had  stopped  the  water-wheels,  flour  was  scarce, 
and  rations  from  the  commissary  had  much  in  their  favor. 
The  Canadians  must  be  fed  or  they  will  '  drop  off, '  was 
Livingston's  warning  to  Bedel;  and,  as  they  received  no 
pay  except  occasional  presents,  this  could  not  be  called 
unreasonable.  Apparently,  other  sources  of  profit  offered 
themselves.  In  ordering  Bedel  to  purchase  guns  for  the 
Canadians  who  could  be  'depended  upon,'  the  General 
added,  *  It  will  be  necessary  to  be  upon  your  guard 
against  imposition,  otherwise  a  man  may  sell  you  his  own 
gun  and  obtain  it  from  you  again  by  the  intervention  of  a 
friend.28 

Out  of  it  all,  then, — out  of  this  cloudy  chaos  of  motives 
and  influences,  these  hopes  and  fears,  these  likes  and  dis 
likes,  these  rational  arguments  and  wild  notions,  these 
major  and  minor  advantages  and  the  personal  force  of 
decided  partisans — came  a  vague,  fluctuating,  uncertain 
loyalty  to  the  American  side.  Even  at  the  time  of  Bedel 's 
mutiny,  a  considerable  body  of  Canadians  under  Living 
ston  defended  a  post  against  the  regulars29 ;  and  this  gave 


2  ^  Montg.  to  R.  R.  I,iv. :  Note  15. 

28  §  j.  Liv.  to  Sch.,  Aug.  — ,  1775:  Emmet  Coll.;  and  (undated)  4  Force,  III., 
•743.     Id.  to  Bedel,  Oct.  6,  1775:  Myers  Coll.    Pay:  Montg.  to  Sch.,  Oct.  31,  1775 
(Sparks  MSS.,  No.  60,  p.  17).     Id.  to  Bedel,  Oct.  4,  1775:  Saffell,  Records,  p.  23. 

29  Trumbull,  Journal,  Oct.  3,  4. 


424  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

promise  that  in  time,  despite  Allen's  fiasco,  their  support 
would  be  vigorous. 

Another  thing  encouraged  Montgomery  to  hope. 
Through  the  good  offices  of  some  Caughnawagas, 
the  dreaded  St.  Luc  La  Corne  made  overtures  in  the 
shape  of  'a  large  string'  of  wampum.  Though  the 
American  leader  shared  the  general  feeling  about  the  ex- 
Indian  agent,  he  felt  that  a  man  of  large  property  might 
well  be  inclined  to  help  stop  the  fighting,  and  cautiously 
agreed  to  an  interview.  '  He  is  a  great  villain  and  as 
cunning  as  the  devil,  but  I  have  sent  a  New  Englander 
to  negotiate  with  him,'  wrote  Montgomery  to  his  wife, 
sandwiching  a  compliment  to  the  eastern  folks  with  a 
genial  New  York  dig.  Major  Brown,  whom  the  General 
pronounced  'a  good  sensible  man,'  received  this  delicate 
appointment,  with  Macpherson,  the  aide-de-camp,  and 
James  Livingston,  the  chief  ally,  to  support  him. 
Several  of  the  leading  citizens  of  Montreal  took  an  interest 
in  the  affair,  and  it  bore  a  promising  look ;  but  apparently 
St.  Luc  found  himself  in  danger  of  discovery,  and,  with 
an  air  of  innocence,  forwarded  Montgomery's  letter  to  the 
Governor.  Nothing  better,  probably,  was  to  be  expected 
of  'that  arch  devil  incarnate,'  as  Mott  and  every  other 
American  thought  him ;  but  at  least  this  new  move  of  his 
appeared  a  manifest  sign  that  'all  his  wiles  and  falsehoods' 
intended  to  rouse  Canadians,  as  well  as  Indians,  against 
the  Provincials  had  broken  down.30 

Presently  something  still  more  heartening  occurred. 
Livingston's  plan  to  surprise  the  British  vessels  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Richelieu  had  bidden  fair  to  please  and 


3  o  §  Macpherson  to ,  Oct.  4,1775:   C9nt.    Cong.  Papers,  41,  V.,  p. 

250.  Montg.  to  Mrs.  M.,  Oct.  6,  1775:  L.  L.  H.,  Biog.  Notes,  p.  12.  Brown:  Id. 
to  R.  R.  Tyiv  :  Note  15.  Id.  to  Sch.,  Oct.  6, 1775:  4  Force,  III.,  1095.  Id.  to  Brown, 
Oct  6,  1775-  ib.,  1098.  Id.  to  Sch.,  Oct.  9,  1775:  ib.,  1096.  Mott  to  Trumbull,  Oct. 
6,  1775:  ib.,  972.  Id.  to  Sch.,  Oct.  7,  1775:  Sch.  Papers.  Verreau  (Sanguinet), 
Invasion,  pp.  51-53.  REMARK  XXV. 


Chambly  425 

confirm   his   people.     Unfortunately,  it   miscarried;    but 
another  enterprise  now  covered  the  failure  with  glory.31 

About  six  miles  north  of  St.  Johns,  the  river  began 
tumbling  over  a  series  of  falls  or  rapids  two  leagues  in 
length.  Here  the  fierce  Iroquois  had  been  obliged  to  lift 
their  canoes  from  the  water,  and  carry  them  around  by 
land;  and,  about  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century,  a 
wooden  fort  named  after  St.  L/ouis  was  built  at  the  foot 
of  the  'carrying- place'  to  block,  or  at  least  hinder,  the 
dreaded  savages.  After  this  burned,  Monsieur  de 
Chambly,  an  active  captain  in  the  Carignan  regiment,  had 
charge  of  erecting  a  stone  successor  on  its  ashes  (1711), 
and  from  him  the  fortress  and  canton  took  their  name. 
Towering  like  a  square  castle  on  the  southwest  edge  of 
the  eddying  basin,  two  miles  wide,  at  the  foot  of  the 
rapids,  with  walls  sixteen  feet  in  height  and  small,  square 
bastions,  eight  feet  higher,  at  the  corners,  the  fort  looked 
quite  threatening;  and  a  gentleman  from  Canada,  who 
gave  the  Colonials  very  interesting  information  in  July, 
1775,  declared  that  Chambly  was  'by  account  strong,  both 
by  nature  and  art.'  Besides,  almost  everybody  supposed 
that,  so  long  as  St.  Johns  held  out,  no  serious  move  could 
be  made  below.32 

Livingston,  however,  thought  otherwise.  *  I  have  sent 
you  four  men,'  he  wrote  Montgomery,  '  who  will  engage  to 
bring  you  two  or  three  pieces  down  the  rapids,  in  a 
batteau  at  night.  This  is  of  great  consequence;  and 
while  you  are  bombarding  the  fort  at  St.  John's,  we  may 
do  the  like  at  Chambly.'  But  how  could  they  pass  the 
guns  of  the  fort  and  the  guns  of  the  Royal  Savage,  that 


3 1  §  Vessels :  J.  I^iv.  to  Sch.  (undated)  (4  Force,  III.,  743);  Cramah£  to  Dart 
mouth,  Sept.  24,  1775  (Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Colon.  Corres.,  Quebec,  n,  p.  405). 

32  §  Chambly:     Can.  Antiquarian,    Jan.,    1875;     Carroll,  Journal,  p.  95; 
Dawson,  N.  Am.,  p.  302  ;   Bouchette,  Descrip.  Topog.,  p.  174  ;  Gage,  Report, 
Mar.  9,  1763  (Can.  Arch.,  B,  7,  p.  84);  Marr,  Remarks  on  Quebec  (Can.  Arch.,  M» 
p.  384);  Narrative,  July  6, 1775  (4  Force,  II.,  1594). 


426   Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

new  schooner?  The  schooner  in  particular,  a  strong 
vessel  built  expressly  for  fighting  and  equipped  with 
twelve  fine  brass  cannon,  might  well  have  proved 
extremely  annoying;  but  for  some  reason,  despite  repeated 
exhortations  from  Major  Preston,  Lieutenant  Hunter 
showed  no  desire  to  run  into  danger,  and  Preston  himself, 
doubtless  too  confident,  kept  but  an  easy  watch  over  his 
broad  moat  at  night.  So  Livingston,  aided  by  Dugan, 
guided  two  boats,  unseen  in  the  darkness,  past  the 
British  position;  works  were  thrown  up  at  Chambly;  a 
few  Provincial  Q-pounders  took  post  where  they  could 
do  the  most  good;  and  Major  Brown,  with  nearly  fifty 
Americans,  joined  hands  with  Livingston  and  his  three 
hundred  Canadians.33 

Notwithstanding  its  reputation,  Fort  Chambly  was  not 
strong.  The  walls  of  thin  masonry,  pierced  only  for 
muskets,  justified  the  name  of  'curtains,'  given  them  in 
military  architecture;  and  the  bastions,  which  Captain 
Marr  said  might  command  the  environs  with  their  guns, 
"if  they  had  any,'  boasted  chiefly  a  decorative  value. 
Well  fitted  with  barracks,  encompassed  with  the  roar  of 
the  falls,  and  almost  bespattered  by  the  spray  of  the  boil 
ing  grey  waters,  the  'castle'  was  a  summer  hotel  rather 
than  a  fortress;  and  the  throng  of  women  and  children, 
outnumbering  the  men  there,  gave  further  color  to  this 
appearance.34 

'  The  Honourable  Major  Stopford,'  the  commander,  had 
no  doubt  his  share  of  courage,  in  addition  to  passing  as 

33  §  J.  I,iv.  to  Montg.,  Sept.,  27,  1775:  Cont.  Cong.  Pap.,  i«,  I    p   106     Id 
Memorial  (read  in   Cong.,  Mar.  7,  1782):  Cont.  Cong.  Papers    4Vvp    246' 
Id.  to  cousin,  Jan.  25,   1819:  Bancroft  Coll.   (loose).    Carroll,    Journal,  p    -k 
Hunter:     Richardson  to    Tryon  (Pub.    Rec.   Off.,  Am.  and  W.   I      Vol.   186 
p.  33).     Foucher,  Journal,  Oct.  3.    Trumbull,  Journal,  Oct.  16.    I,iv  ,  Journal' 
Oct.  15,  16.    Montg.  to  Bedel,  Oct.  2,  26,  1775:  Saffell,  Records,  pp.  22  25      Id  to 
J.  I,iv.,  Oct.  16,  1775:    Cont.  Cong.  Papers,  4i,  V.,   p.  266.      Id.  to'  Sch  ,  6ct 
20,  i775:  Sparks  MSS.,  No.  60,  p.  16.    Ritzema,  Journal,  Oct.  16-18.     Verreau 
(Sangumet),  Invasion,  p.  74.     REMARK  XXVI. 

34  §  Marr:  Note  32.     Inmates:  S.  Mott  to  Trumbull,  Oct.  20,  1775  (4  Force, 


428   Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

very  much  of  a  gentleman,  and  could  have  kept  his 
ground  against  musketry ;  but  when  he  saw  the  dark  eyes 
of  cannon  fixed  upon  him,  and  watched  their  glances  bore 
a  couple  of  holes  through  his  masonry,  besides  knocking 
a  chimney-top  down  among  his  fair  garrison  and  wounding 
the  dignity  of  the  drum-major  with  a  scratch  on  his 
thigh,  he  concluded  to  surrender  (October  18)  without 
waiting  for  any  good  fellow  to  be  mustered  out  of  life; 
and  soon  the  proud  colors  of  the  Royal  Fusiliers,  with 
their  'galloping  white  horse'  in  the  centre,  making  a 
forced  march  to  the  south,  took  pest  in  Mistress  John  Han 
cock's  chamber  at  Philadelphia  'with  great  splendor  and 
elegance.'35 

Stopford  had  good  grounds,  perhaps,  for  delivering  up 
the  fort,  and  with  it  lyieutenant  Barrington,  a  nephew  of 
the  British  Minister  of  War,  as  well  as  eighty  more  good 
officers  and  men  ;  and  they  were  all  as  useful  to  the  Crown 
in  Pennsylvania  and  New  Jersey  as  they  had  been  at 
Chambly.  But,  with  a  river  so  near  that  since  his  day  it 
has  devoured  one  whole  side  of  the  fort,  why  did  he  turn 
over  to  the  'rebels'  a  hundred  and  twenty-four  barrels 
of  gunpowder,  6,564  musket  cartridges,  and  a  hundred 
and  fifty  stand  of  French  arms,  to  say  nothing  of  two 
hundred  and  thirty-eight  barrels  of  eatable  provisions? 
Indeed,  surprise  has  been  tempted  to  go  a  step  farther 
sometimes,  for  only  when  the  upsetting  of  Carleton's 
plans  by  the  disloyalty  of  the  Canadians  and  the  sudden 
return  of  the  Colonials  came  to  be  understood,  could  the 
public  explain  why  stores  and  men  were  left  in  a  fort 
where  they  could  not  be  defended.36 

35  §  Mart:  Note  32.    Montg.  to  Sell.,  Oct.  20:  Note  33.    Foucher,  Journal, 
Oct.  20.     Sch.  to  Hancock,  Oct.    26,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  1130.    Id.  to  Trumbull, 
Oct.  27, 1775:  ib.,  1207.    Mottto  Trumbull,  Oct.  20, 1775:  ib.,  1124.    Corres.  between 
Brown  and  Stopford:  Lib.  Cong.,  Letters  to  Wash.,  VII.,  pp.  77,  78.     Carleton 
to  Dartmouth,  Oct.  25,  1775:  Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Colon.  Corres.,  Quebec,  n,  p.  4^33. 
Verreau  (Sanguinet),  Invasion,  p.  62.    Precis  of  Oper.    Colors:  Cannon,  Hist. 
Record  7th  Fusil.,  p.  24.    J.  Adams,  Fam.  Letters,  p.  121.    S.  Adams  to  Mrs.  A.r 
Nov.  7,  1775:  S.  Adams  Papers. 

36  §  Terms  and  stores:  4  Force,  III.,  1133.     Barrington:  J.  Adams,  Works,, 


Chambly  Captured  429 

'  This,  I  fear,  will  sink  their  Spirits  still  more,'  reflected 
Carleton,  thinking  of  the  people;  but  certainly  the  spirits 
of  many  of  the  Canadians  went  up  tremendously.  And 
not  theirs  alone,  but  the  spirits  of  every  Colonial  patriot. 
'The  reduction  of  St.  John's  seems  now  certain,'  was  the 
joyful  news  that  Schuyler  sent  across  the  splendid  autum 
nal  hills  of  Berkshire  to  Governor  Trumbull;  and  an 
audible  smile  visited  the  careworn  face  of  Washington.37 

And  there  were  others,  quite  ignorant  of  the  tidings,  to 
whom  they  meant  no  less.  Ethan  Allen,  deep  in  the  hold 
of  the  GaspS,  stood  first.  Prescott's  genial  promise  of  a 
halter  could  not  be  made  good,  now,  and  Lord  Suffolk,  in 
the  Upper  House  of  Parliament,  told  why:  'We  .  .  . 
avoided  bringing  him  to  his  trial  from  considerations  of 
prudence — from  a  dread  of  the  consequences  of  retaliation,' 
for  'the  Rebels  had  lately  made  a  considerable  number  of 
prisoners.'  And  the  dread  had  a  good  basis,  in  fact. 
According  toSanguinet,  Carleton  first  heard  of  his  misfor 
tune  at  Chambly  from  an  American  soldier;  and  the 
soldier  brought  him  a  warning  from  Montgomery  that, 
should  Allen  and  his  fellow-prisoners  be  made  to  suffer, 
he  should  'execute  with  vigour  the  just  and  necessary 
law  of  retaliation  upon  the  garrison  of  Chambly.' 
Washington  pursued  the  same  policy;  Congress  aided; 
and  finally  Allen,  as  well  as  his  unfortunate  comrades, 
breathed  free  air  once  more.88 

Meanwhile  the  Canadians,  finding  the  safety  of  their 
captured  friends  planted  on  so  firm  a  ground,  could  afford 


Destin.  of  pris.:  Journ.  Cong., 


II.,  p.  431.    Prisoners:  Can.  Arch.,  Q,  u,  p.  277.    Destin. 

Nov.  17,  etc.,  1775.  Criticism:  Smyth,  Precis,  p.  109.  As  Brown's  captures 
proved,  the  work  of  supplying-  St.  Johns  had  not  been  completed  when  Montg. 
arrived  there.  The  stores  then  at  Chambly  could  not  be  removed  after  that. 

3  ?  §  Carleton  to  Dartmouth,  Oct.  25,  1775:  Note  35.    Sch.  to  Trumbull,  Oct. 
,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  1207.    Wash,  to  Sch.,  Nov.  5:  Writings  (Ford),  III.,  p.  198. 


27,  1775 


38  §  Suffolk,  Mar.  5,  1776:4  Force,  VI.,  296.  Verreau  (SanguinetK  Invasion,  p. 
62.  Montg.  to  Carleton,  Oct.  22,  1775:4  Force,  III.,  1138.  Wash,  to  Howe,  Dec. 
18,  1775:  Larleton  Papers,  I.,  p.  i.  Journ.  Cong.,  Dec.  2,  1775;  July  22,  1776. 
Exchanges:  Germain  to  Howe;  Feb.  i,  1776  (Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Am.  and  W.  I.,  Vol. 
431,  p.  113).  REMARK  XXVII. 


430   Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

to  think  of  the  raid  more  charitably,  and,  proud  of  their 
exploit  at  Chambly,  toil  for  another  victory.  It  looked 
now  as  if  they  had  taken  hold  in  earnest.  They  are 
'in  for  the  plate,'  concluded  Charles  I^ee.39 

3  9  I^ee  to  Palfrey,  Nov.  5,  1775 :  Emmet  Coll. 


XV 

VICTORY 

BUT  the  siege  of  St.  Johns  did  not  prosper.  The 
two-gun  battery,  well  screened  from  the  fort,  about 
540  yards  distant,  by  a  wall  of  fascines,  cannonaded  the 
shipyard  and  vessels  with  red-hot  balls,  while  the 
mortars — reinforced  after  a  fortnight  by  the  Old  Sow,  a 
13-inch  piece  that  had  slowly  travelled  from  Cape  Breton 
to  Ticonderoga  and  now  came  soggily  down  the  lake — did 
their  more  aerial  feats  twenty-five  or  thirty  rods  nearer  the 
enemy  with  equal  zeal;  but  the  British,  with  several  times 
as  many  cannon,  including  two  brass  24-pounders  and  a 
couple  of  8-inch  brass  howitzers  for  shells,  could  far  more 
than  match  the  American  fire.  'We  have  Cannon  and 
Shott  both  for  Breakfast  &  Dinner,  &  Shells  at  Night  for 
Supper,  as  the  Knerny  has  the  Distance  of  Ground  they  do 
us  some  hurt,'  a  Manhattan  soldier  wrote  to  'Mr.  Garrett 
Oakes  at  the  Sign  of  the  Brittania  near  ferry  stairs,  New 
York ' ;  and,  as  Captain  Williams  of  the  garrison  was 
considered  by  some  the  ablest  officer  in  the  British  army, 
probably  no  good  chance  for  a  shot  failed  to  be  improved. 
But  the  Provincials  kept  themselves  well  covered,  and 
that  part  of  the  letter  was  rather  unimportant,  after  all. 
Not  so  a  second  item :  '  little  to  do  but  eat  &  Drink  & 
mount  Guard';  nor  a  third,  which  told  the  result:  'I 
was  expecting  to  come  home  next  Spring  by  water  by 

431 


432   Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

the  Way  of  Quebec,  but  I'm  afraid  I  shall  never  see 
it.'1 

Others  felt  even  better  satisfied  of  that.     While  James 
Livingston  was  pointing  his  guns  at  Stopford's  caravan 
sary,  a  gentleman  at  New  York  put  some  thoughts  on 
paper  for  a  Boston  friend  :    *  The  ill-success  of  the  scheme 
for  taking  Canada  &  the  deplorable  situation  of  the  Rebel 
Army  under  Schuyler  &  Montgomery  has  thrown    Con 
gresses,  Committees  &  all  their  Abettors  into  very  great 
confusion  in  so  much  that  you  may  see  dismay  strongly 
painted  upon  every  countenance.'     The  next  day,  while 
Chambly  was  surrendering,  Governor  Tryon,  safely  en 
sconced  in  the '  Halifax  Packet  off  New  York, '  penned  this 
to  the   British   Secretary  of  State:  'though  I  have  not 
authority  to  congratulate  your  Lordship  on  the  failure 
of  that  enterprize,  I  have  the  pleasure  to  assure  you  the 
warmest  advisers   of  that  daring  &  Rebellious  Expedi 
tion  .   .   .  have    given    up    every   prospect   of    success.' 
Even  Washington,  the  rock  of  the  Colonies,  felt  depressed. 
'  My  anxiety  suggests  some  doubts,   which   your   better 
acquaintance    with    the    country    will    enable    you    to 
remove,'  he  admitted  with  touching  delicacy  to  Schuyler  ; 
and  he  inquired,  in  order  to  suggest  his  '  imperfect  idea 
on  the  subject,'  whether,  as  Arnold  had  proposed,  St.  Johns 
could  not  have  been  safely  blockaded,  while  the  rest  of  the 
army  moved  on  and  captured  Montreal.     To  make  the 
delay  seem,  if  possible,  still  more  disappointing,  reports 
of  triumph  had  somehow  gone  abroad,  almost  before  the 
siege  began.     Four  days  after  the  army   finally  arrived, 


i  §  Distances :  S.  Mott  to  Sch.,  Oct.  7,  1775  (Sch.  Papers).  Barlow  Journal, 
Sept.  24,  25.  Trumbull,  Journal.  Ritzema,  Journal.  Montg.  to  Bedel,  Sept. 
25,  1775:  Dreer  Coll.  Id.  to  Sch.,  Sept.  28,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  954-  Id-  to 
R.  R.Liv.,  Oct.  5,  [1775]:  Liv.  Papers,  1775-1777,  p.  51.  Sch.  to  Hancock,  Sept.  29: 
4  Force,  III.,  839.  Van Rensselaer,  Oct.  6  :  Bonney,  Gleanings,  I.,  p.  45.  List 
of  cannon:  4  Force,  III.,  1395.  From  C.  B.:  [T.  Allen]  to  [Pomeroy],  May  9, 
1775:  4  Force,  II.,  546.  Tryon  to  Dartmouth,  Nov.  n,  1775:  Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Am. 
and  W.  I.,  Vol.  185,  p.  677.  Oakes,  Letter,  Oct.  u,  1775:  ib.,  p.  701.  Williams: 
J.  Adams,  Works,  II.,  p.  431. 


The  Campaign  Is  Thought  a  Failure     433 

it  was  announced  in  the  Colonies  that  St.  Johns  had 
been  taken  with  a  loss  of  only  three  men;  and  then  week 
followed  week  into  the  shadows  of  the  past  without  leaving 
on  its  way  the  expected  confirmation.2 

Truth  to  tell,  the  lack  of  discipline,  cordiality,  and 
'regular'  military  spirit  among  the  troops  was  only 
one  corner  of  Montgomery's  difficulties,  and  perhaps  the 
brightest  at  that.  Making  friends  with  the  Indians  had  its 
disadvantages.  They  loved  to  stalk  proudly  about  the 
camp,  while  the  outlook  appeared  hopeful,  smiting  their 
expanded  bosoms,  and  crying,  '  Me  Yankee!'  but  it  was 
not  pleasant,  when  things  went  badly,  to  see  a  knot  of 
them  sniff  around  the  American  battery,  and  then  steal 
off  into  the  fort,  nor  even  to  receive  a  call  from  Caughna- 
waga  Castle  for  a  garrison,  when  the  camp  itself  lacked 
men.  The  Canadians,  coming  and  going  by  'fits  and 
starts,'  always  timorous,  full  of  'clashing  interests  and 
private  piques,'  often  touchy  and  sometimes  mutinous, 
required  the  daintiest  handling  and  the  deftest  adminis 
tration  of  presents.3 

The  weightiest  arguments  among  the  natives,  when 
invited  to  part  with  turkeys  or  wheat,  were  the  ring  of 
silver  and  the  glitter  of  gold.  By  the  first  week  in 
October,  Schuyler  had  expended  $100,000  of  Continental 
currency,  and  a  few  days  later  the  Congress  ordered  twice 
as  much  more  sent  him;  but,  even  had  it  been  tons 
instead  of  dollars,  the  army  would  have  been  little  the 
richer  in  the  eyes  of  the  Canadians.  French  paper 
money  had  flown  broadcast  like  forest  leaves  among 

from  NY    Oct.  17,  1775 :  Can.  Arch.,  B,  27,  p.  365.     Tryon  to  Sec'y 
^,  i77s^Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Am.  and  W.  I.,  Vol    428^  p.  303.     Wash,  to 


2  §  letter  from  N.Y.,  Oct.  17, 
State    Oct.  1 

lept!  Sfrff 


a  §  Mott  to  Trumbull,  Oct.  6,  1775  :  4  Force,  III.,  g?2.  Waterbury,  Ord.  Book, 
Sept.2Q  Trumbull,  Journal,  Oct.  2,  3.  Montg.  to  --  ,  Oct  181775-  MS  in 
possession  of  Mr.  J.  T.  Sabin.  Id.  to  T  Uv.,  Oct.  18,  i7'7S:  Hist  Mag  June 

'775:  ^parks  MSS-<  No  *"  p-  '6 


VOL.  I.—  28. 


434  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

them  during  the  late  war,  and  had  fallen  as  low.  4A 
burnt  child  dreads  the  fire,'  said  Schuyler,  and  now 
they  would  none  of  it.  '  A  little  cash  we  must 
have,'  wrote  Bedel;  'Warner  wants  money,  and  we 
cannot  do  without.'  The  only  lack  in  this  ingenuous 
appeal  was  the  name  of  every  other  man  in  the  army.  '  I 
must  tell  you,'  replied  the  General,  'hard  cash  is  very 
scarce.  ...  If  we  have  not  ready  money  to  pay  for  pro 
visions,  we  shall  be  ill  supplied.'  '  L,et  the  hard  cash 
come  up  as  soon  as  possible,  that  our  reputation  may  hold 
good,'  appealed  Montgomery  in  his  turn  to  Schuyler. 
'The  urgent  necessity  of  an  immediate  supply  of  gold  and 
silver,'  was  the  text  of  a  pressing  message  from  Schuyler 
to  Congress.  'None  is  to  be  had  at  Albany,'  he  said;  'I 
fear  the  want  of  specie  will  be  fatal  to  us. '  October  the 
tenth  Congress  dropped  all  business  for  an  hour,  in  order 
to  have  this  matter  attended  to;  and  soon  two  troopers, 
in  the  uniform  of  the  Philadelphia  Light  Horse,  trotted 
out  of  the  city  toward  the  north,  escorting  ^6,364  of 
Pennsylvania  currency  ($16,970  2/3)  in  sealed  bags, — all 
that  could  be  scraped  together.4 

While  care  was  required  to  hold  friends,  it  was  perhaps 
no  less  trouble  to  hold  the  enemy.  Montgomery  could 
not  concentrate  his  forces  at  the  main  camp,  lest  Major 
Preston  should  slip  away  to  Quebec.  'For  God's  sake 
have  a  watchful  Eye  over  them  ! '  he  sent  word  to  Bedel. 
But  it  looked  more  probable  that  such  an  '  elopement ' 
would  take  place  by  the  eastern  side  of  the  river;  and 
Livingston,  with  about  two  hundred  of  his  people,  went 
across  to  make  a  battery  there,  one  hundred  rods  or  so 


4  §  $100,000:  Sch.  to  Hancock,  Oct.  5, 1775  (4  Force,  III.,  951).  Money:  Journ. 
Cong  Oct.  6,  9,  10,  16,  1775.  Canada  paper:  Parkman,  Montcalm,  II.,  p.  366  ; 
Chic.  Journ.  Pol.  Boon.,  June,  1893,  p.  425.  Sch.  to  Hancock,  Oct.  18,  1775=  4 
Force,  III.,  1093.  Bedel  to  Montg.,  Sept.  28,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  954.  Montg.  to 
Bedel,  Oct.  5,  i775:  Saffell,  Records,  p.  24.  Id.  to  Sch.,  Oct.  6,  1775:  4  Force,  III., 
1095.  Sch.  to  Hancock,  Sept.  25,  T77s:  ib.,  7q6.  Hancock  to  Sch.,  Oct.  9,  1775 : 
ib.,  987.  Sch.  to  Hancock,  Oct.  14:  ib.,  1065.  Penn.  Arch.,  Sec.  Ser.,  XIV.,  p.  IV. 


GOVERNOR   JONATHAN   TRUMBULL 


435 


Fears  Lest  the  British  Escape  437 

from  the  fort.  'They  don't  love  work,'  observed  the 
General;  but  for  once,  at  least,  they  found  themselves 
busy  for  a  while.  Their  move  displeased  the  garrison  not 
a  little,  so  about  the  middle  of  the  next  forenoon  Preston 
sent  over  his  fine  schooner  and  a  floating  battery,  begun 
for  a  sloop  but  never  finished,  to  bombard  the  incipient 
breastwork;  and  before  long  a  party  landed  to  assault 
it.5 

Upon  this,  Montgomery's  fleet,  drawn  up  in  line 
across  the  river  just  above  the  camp,  weighed  anchor 
and  moved  into  action.  Its  broadsides  could  not  speak 
very  thunderously,  for  the  heaviest  metal  of  the  sloop 
Enterprise  was  a  pair  of  6-pounders,  the  schooner  Liberty 
had  nothing  better  than  a  couple  of  4-pounders,  and  the 
'gondolas'  Hancock  and  Schuyler — merely  large,  heavy 
bateaux — had  each  but  a  single  i2-pounder  in  the  bow, 
supported,  like  the  guns  of  a  sailing  craft,  with  swivels; 
but,  with  the  exception  of  a  brass  24-pounderon  the  float 
ing  battery,  the  British  vessels  had  nothing  so  heavy. 
The  American  land  batteries  also  turned  their  attention 
to  that  side;  Livingston's  Canadians  blazed  away  for  dear 
life ;  and  Bedel  hurried  to  the  scene  in  time  to  burn  some 
powder.  For  about  half  an  hour  the  firing  was  'sharp,' 
reported  Trumbull,  and  the  crisp  October  blue  overhead 
began  to  look  foggy;  but  finally  the  regulars  beat  a 
retreat,  and  one  Canadian,  touched  by  a  grape-shot,  had 
to  consult  the  surgeon.  Montgomery  now  sent  a  reinforce 
ment;  the  breastwork  rose  to  its  appointed  height,  and 
the  escape  of  the  garrison  by  that  route  seemed  impos 
sible;  but  the  General  soon  had  reason  to  believe  that 
Preston  was  preparing  flat-bottomed  boats  in  the  hope 


5  §  Montg.  to  Bedel,  Sept.  25,  1775:  Dreer  Coll.  Id.  to  Id.,  Sept.,  28,  1775: 
Saftell,  Records,  p.  21.  Id.  to  R.  R.  I^iv.,  Oct.  5,  [1775]:  I,iv.  Papers,  1775- 
I777i  P-  S1-  Id.  to  Sch.,  Oct.  6,  9,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  1095,  1096.  Trumbull, 
Journal,  Oct.  3,  4.  Barlow,  Journal,  Oct.  3,  4. 


438  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

of  a  pleasanter  trip  by  water,  and  his  anxiety  could  not 
sleep.6 

To  hold  his  own  troops  in  place  appeared  oftentimes  the 
greatest  problem  of  all,  for  without  rations  they  could  not 
remain.  Tin  kettles,  brass  kettles,  iron  pots  and  frying 
pans,  wooden  bowls,  and  tin  cups,— they  all  had  open 
throats  which  demanded  to  be  filled  somehow  three  times 
every  day.  Barley  and  oats  grew  in  the  province,  as  well 
as  wheat ;  but,  without  cash  and  revolving  millstones,  the 
army  could  not  fatten  on  the  most  abundant  crops. 
Apples,  peaches,  pears,  and  sometimes  apricots  brightened 
the  orchards;  but  these  at  best  were  only  trimmings. 
Hardy  oxen  of  three  to  six  hundred  weight  browsed  the 
herb;  but  few  of  them  could  be  spared  from  the  plough. 
From  Moses  Hazen's  large  estate  close  by,  the  Americans 
took  supplies  worth  over  sixteen  hundred  dollars,  and 
Dugan  furnished  nearly  as  much;  but  what  was  this 
among  so  many?  Mainly  the  army  had  to  draw  its  pro 
visions  from  the  south,  where  Continental  bills  passed  as 
money;  and  this  meant  a  long,  slow,  and  costly  journey. 
'It  will  require  not  only  good  fortune,  but  despatch,  to 
keep  us  from  distress,'  Montgomery  notified  Schuyler  very 
early;  and  the  results  proved  him  no  false  prophet.7 

4 If  I  had  not  arrived  here,  even  on  the  very  day  I  did,' 
declared  Schuyler  after  going  back  to  Ticonderoga,  'as 
sure  as  God  lives  the  Army  would  have  starved ' ;  and 
weeks  passed  before  that  outlook  dissolved.  '  At  one  time 
I  had  not  more  than  three  days'  flour,  at  another  little 
more  pork,'  said  Montgomery  to  an  intimate  friend. 

6  S  Monte-  to  Sch  Oct.  6,  9,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  1095,  1096.  Fleet:  4  Force, 
III  534  Tfumbull/'jouriial?' Sept.  4iq;  Oct.  4.  Brit,  guns:  Richardson  to 
Tryon  (Pub.  Rec.  Off:,  Am.  and  W.  Ind.,  Vol.  186,  p.  33);^y  Journal  OcLi  4. 
Barlow,  Ord.  Book,  Oct.  4.  Safford,  Journal,  Oct.  4.  S.  Mott  to  TrurnbulL  Oct 
6,1775:  4  Force,  III.,  972.  Almon,  Remembrancer  1776,  Part  II.,  Journal  of 
Siege  p  126  Montg,  to  Sch.,  Oct.  13,  1775 :  4  Force,  III.,  1097. 

?  §  Dishes :  Johnston,  Record,  p.  93.  Stone  (ed,),  letters  of  Officers,  p.  15. 
Hazen:  Journ.JCong.,  Sept.  24,  1776-  Dugan:  ib.,  Aug.  19;  Nov.  23,  1776- 
Moing.  to  Sch.,  Sept.  28  ;  Oct.  6,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  954>  i°95- 


Provisions  Threaten  to  Fail  439 

Again  Schuyler  justified  his  claims  to  national  gratitude 
by  his  earnest  and  even  passionate  exertions;  but  no  man, 
suffering  as  he  was  from  'a  barbarous  complication  of 
disorders '  and  a  still  more  barbarous  '  vexation  of  spirit, ' 
could  accomplish  what  he  desired.  At  any  moment,  this 
pivot  of  Montgomery's  communications  might  break  down 
entirely;  and,  even  if  it  held,  embarrassments  remained 
that  no  spell  could  charm  away.  At  one  crisis  no  more 
pork  could  be  found,  and  there  was  a  dearth  of  salt  for 
packing  beef.  At  another,  the  floods  carried  away  all  the 
forage,  and  the  draught-cattle  nearly  starved ;  and  once, 
when  Schuyler  had  fortunately  accumulated  a  small  store 
of  provisions  at  the  lakes,  a  heavy  storm,  sweeping  away 
nearly  all  the  bridges  between  Fort  George  and  Albany, 
made  the  roads  impassable  for  at  least  a  week.  Well 
aware  of  these  dangers,  Montgomery  was  like  a  hobbled 
war-horse,  and  all  the  more  so  when  he  found  the  general 
irregularity  of  an  improvised  army  causing  waste  in  the 
commissary's  department.8 

If  pots  and  kettles  clamored  loudly  to  be  filled,  muskets 
and  cannons  had  still  bigger  voices,  and  no  less  occasion 
to  use  them.  Three  days  after  his  batteries  opened, 
Montgomery  realized  there  was  not  enough  ammunition 
1  to  carry  on  an  attack  with  success.'  Schuyler  was  about 
sending  on  five  hundred  pounds  of  powder,  but  that 
would  be  a  mere  pinch  of  snuff;  and  he  forwarded  Han 
cock  the  painful  comments  that  '  not  an  ounce  '  remained, 
and  that  he  could  count  upon  nothing  more  of  the  kind 
north  of  Manhattan.  The  Congress  itself  was  no  better 
off.  All  sorts  of  schemes  to  obtain  saltpetre  still  occupied 
its  thoughts.  A  little  later  it  appointed  thirty-one  men 


;:  Montg.  to 


s  §  Sch.  to  Hancock,  Sept.  28,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  826.  Weeks:  1 
Sch.,  Oct.  6,  1775  (ib.,  1095).  Id.  to  R.  R.  I,iv.,  Oct.  5  [1775]:  l,iv.  Papers,  1775- 
1777,  p.  51.  Sch.  to  Hancock,  Sept.  25,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  796.  Id.  to  Wash.,  Oct.  12, 
1775 :  ib  1035.  Id  to  Id.,  Oct.  26,  1775 :  ib.,  1195.  Id.  to  Hancock,  Nov.  n,  1775 :  ib., 
1520.  Waste:  Montg.  to  Sch.,  Oct.  9,  1775  (Dunlap,  New  Netherlands,  II.,  p.  21); 
Id.  to  Bedel,  Oct.  5,  13, 1775  (Saffell,  Records,  pp.  24,25). 


440  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

to  have  this  chemical  made  from  scrapings  of  the  floors 
and  yards  of  tobacco  warehouses  and  other  such  places  in 
Virginia,  and  explained  minutely  how  the  soil  might 
be  'much  the  more  impregnated  with  nitrous  particles.' 
About  the  same  time,  Josiah  Bartlett  wrote  from  Phila 
delphia  to  the  New  Hampshire  Committee  of  Safety,  and 
pointed  in  a  different  though  equivalent  direction  :  '  The 
floor  of  a  meeting-house  being  taken  up,'  he  said,  'the 
earth  under  it  produced  one  pound  from  every  bushel ; 
under  barns,  stables,  etc.,  much  more.'  In  such  straits 
and  with  Washington  to  provide  for,  Congress  could  do 


little  to  aid  the  northern  army;  but,  as  Manhattan  also 
begged  for  powder  most  urgently,  it  '  borrowed  '  a  ton 
from  Pennsylvania,  and  sent  it  up  to  the  New  Yorkers, 
requesting  that  Schuyler  should  have  'the  whole  or  such 
a  Part  of  it  as  they  could  spare.'9 

Meanwhile,  the  General  had  begged  the  Congress  of  his 
Colony  to  let  him  have  five  tons  by  express ;  and  the  Pro 
vincial  Congress,  finding  in  its  magazines  fourteen  hun 
dred  pounds,  mostly  belonging  to  the  Counties,  despatched 
it  in  a  covered  boat,  rowed  with  oars,  to  Albany.  '  It  is 


9  §  Trumbull's  and  Barlow's  Journals,  Sept.  25.  Montg.  to  Sch.,  Sept.  28, 
1775:  4  Force,  III.,  954.  Sch.  to  Hancock,  Sept.  29  ;  Oct.  5,  1775:  ib.,  839,  951. 
Journ.  Cong.,  Oct.  16  ;  Nov.  10,  1775.  Bartlett,  Nov.  13,  1775:  4  Force,  IV.,  22. 
Secret  Journ.  Cong.,  Oct.  9,  1775.  Hancock  to  Sch.,  Oct.,  12,  1775-  Am.  Anti 
quarian  Soc. 


The  Army  Depleted  by  Sickness        441 

the  whole  that  can  be  obtained  in  the  Colony,'  they 
explained.  This  came  far  short,  however,  of  the  five 
tons  needed;  so  all  of  the  borrowed'  consignment  from 
Philadelphia  was  magnanimously  forwarded  in  the  same 
direction,  though  without  it  the  New  York  people  could 
not,  even  then,  'command  two  hundred  pounds  of  powder, 
if  it  would  save  the  Colony  from  destruction.'  Seven 
hundred  and  fifty  pounds  more  were  scraped  together 
about  Albany.  Yet  all  these  grand  exertions  gained  only 
a  few  rounds  apiece  for  the  muskets  and  a  morsel  for  the 
batteries.  By  such  desperate  shifts  had  the  momentous 
campaign  to  be  conducted  ;  and  at  length  Montgomery 
reached  the  very  point  of  giving  up  the  siege  '  thro' 
want  of  Ammunition.'  His  joy,  then,  might  be  imagined 
but  not  described,  when  the  capture  of  Chambly  threw 
six  tons  of  precious  powder  into  his  magazine.  This, 
'with  the  blessing  of  God,  will  finish  our  business  here,' 
he  exclaimed.10 

But  gunpowder,  after  all,  would  never  take  St.  Johns 
without  soldiers  to  burn  it.  For  weeks  care  had  to  be 
used  lest  more  men  should  go  on  than  could  be  fed;  and 
when  provisions  arrived,  forces  did  not.  The  Congress, 
alarmed  by  Schuyler's  hint  about  retiring  from  Nut 
Island,11  ordered  to  the  front  not  only  all  the  troops  raising 
in  New  York  but  Wooster's  Connecticut  men.  'With  all 
possible  expedition,'  Congress  phrased  its  exhortation; 
yet  the  numbers  at  St.  Johns  increased  very  slowly.  For 
one  thing,  the  old  difficulty  about  muskets  had  to  be  met, 
and  the  New  York  Committee  of  Safety  found  it  necessary 
to  '  impress  '  all  arms  found  in  the  custody  of  persons  who 

'  o  §  Sch.  to  N.  Y.  Cong.,  Sept.  29,  1775  :  Sparks  MSS.,  No.  29,  p.  266      N  Y 
Cong,  to  Hancock,  Oct.  6,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  97i.     Id.  to  Id.,    Oct    16,  1775:  ib.,' 
1003.     Sch.  to  N.  Y.  Cong.,  Oct.  14,  1775:  ib.,  1066.     J.  Liv.,  Memorial  (read  in 
Cong.,  Mar.  7,1782):  Cont.  Cong.  Papers,  No.  41,  V.,  p.  246.    Montg    to  Sch 
Oct.  20,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  1132. 

i '  Page  332. 


442  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

had  not  joined  the  patriotic  Association  ;  for  another,  all 
the  rest  of  the  old  difficulties  reappeared,  except  that  per 
haps  the  authorities  of  New  York  indulged  themselves  in 
less  otiosity  than  before.  On  the  sixth  of  October,  the 
force  around  St.  Johns  was  reckoned  at  sixteen  hundred. 
Three  days  later,  all  the  Yorkers  that  Schuyler  could  for 
ward,  retaining  at  Ticonderoga  only  sixty-five  effectives, 
had  reached  the  front;  yet  Montgomery  reported,  'I  find 
my  numbers  but  little  increased'  ;  and  in  fact,  on  the 
twenty-third,  only  seven  hundred  and  fifty  men  occupied 
the  main  camp.  The  reinforcements  appeared  to  soak  into 
the  ground.12 

The  invalid-list  explained  why.  What  Sullivan  once 
called  '  the  pale-faced  brigade  '  grew  steadily  in  number. 
'Such  crowds  of  sick!  '  exclaimed  Schuyler,  as  they  drifted 
to  the  rear ;  and  well  he  might  :  for  those  discharged 
before  the  sun  went  down  on  the  twelfth  of  October 
amounted  to  nine  hundred  and  thirty-seven.  Besides 
these,  at  least  a  hundred  and  fifty  languished  in  the 
hospital  at  Lake  George  that  day,  and  probably  as  many 
more  were  waiting  to  enter  it.  '  Tell  Dr.  Lightfoot,' 
wrote  a  soldier  home,  'if  he  had  come  with  the  Army  he 
would  have  had  good  business.'  Even  at  the  hospital, 
practitioners  were  lacking;  and,  for  that  and  other 
reasons,  few  who  left  the  camp  ill  ever  found  their  way 
back.  Among  the  people  at  home,  this  wretched  plight 
of  their  army  stirred  the  fountains  of  pity,  and  efforts 
were  made  to  help  it.  One  '  Certain  Cure,  '  contributed 
by  a  reader  of  the  Connecticut  Courant,  on  hearing  that 

1 2  §  Montg.  to  Sch.,  Oct.  6,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  1095.  Journ.  Cong.,  Sept.  20, 
1775.  Hancock  to  Sch.,  Sept.  20  :  4  Force  III.,  74q.  Id.  to  N.  Y.  Cong.,  Sept.  20, 
1775-  ib.,  749.  Id.  to  Wooster,  Sept.  20,  1775:  ib.,  749.  N.  Y.  Com.  Safety  to 
Hancock,  Sept.  23,  1775:  ib.,  777.  Wooster  to  Wash.,  Sept.  28,  1775:  ij>.,  826. 
'Impress':  N.  Y.  Com  Safety,  Sept.  16,  1775  (ib.,  898).  State  of  NY.  troops: 
N  Y  Cong,  to  N.  Y.  Delegs.,  Oct.  4.  1775:  ib.,  1268.  Troops  sent  north:  Return 
(ib.,  955).  Van  Rensselaer  to  —  — ,  Oct.  6,  1775 :  Bonney,  Gleanings,  I.,  p.  45- 
Sch  to  Hancock,  Oct.  18,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  1093.  Montg.  to  Sch  Oct.  9,  ^775- 
ib  ,  1096.  Id.  to  Id.,  Oct.  23,  1775  (quoted  by  Sch.,  Nov.  6,  3.775)--  «>•»  '374. 


A  SP&ratf-:, 


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SCHUYLER  TO  WASHINGTON,   OCT.   12,    1775 


443 


444  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

fever  and  ague  camped  among  the  troops,  ran  this  way: 
'  Take  of  Spiders  webb  sufficient  for  three  pills,  rolled 
well  together,  about  the  size  of  a  large  pea,  [and]  drink 
them  off  in  a  gill  of  good  old  spirits,  just  as  the  chill 
commences.'13 

As  this  fond  prescription  hinted,  the  main  trouble  came 
from  the  soil.  'Good,  handsome  land,'  commented 
Easton;  but  he  had  'just  now  arrived,'  and  eyes 
accustomed  to  the  hills  and  rocks  of  Berkshire  took 
delight  in  the  immense  plains  of  the  Richelieu,  and  their 
deep,  fat,  and  humid  loam.  A  brief  acquaintance,  how 
ever,  found  another  side  to  the  tapestry.  A  great  part  of 
the  country,  noted  Chaplain  Trumbull,  was  drowned  land 
'for  50  or  an  100  miles  on  End.'  Farmers  had  to  plough 
their  fields  in  ridges,  to  save*  the  grain  from  being 
flooded;  the  wheels  of  a  calash  would  grow,  in  a  rainy 
time,  till  they  resembled  the  automobile  tires  of  a  later 
day;  and,  after  heavy  storms,  the  depth  of  the  mud  always 
equalled  the  length  of  the  measuring  stick.  '  Wherever 
we  attempt  to  erect  batteries,  the  water  follows  in  the 
ditch,  when  only  two  feet  deep,'  wrote  Samuel  Mott. 
Montgomery's  camp  had  to  be  pitched  on  low,  miry 
ground,  where  footgear  often  sank  nearly  out  of  sight ; 
and  the  soldiers  could  keep  their  tents  decently  dry  only 
by  strewing  thick  beds  of  bushes,  bark,  or  reeds  on  the 
soil.  To  atone  for  the  drought,  September  expressed  its 
valedictory  in  copious  downpours.  According  to  Oakes's 
reckoning,  it  rained  '8  days  Successively  'in  a  single  week, 
'by  which  we  were  almost  Drownd,'  he  said.  'Our  men 
Sometimes  have  been  Wet  near  Twenty  Days  together,' 
noted  Trumbuil  in  his  Journal,  when  reviewing  the  siege. 


1 3  §  Sch.  to  Hancock,  Oct.  5,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  951-  Discharges :  ib  ,  1097. 
Oakesto  G.  Oakes:  Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Am.  and  W.  Ind.,  Vol.  185,  P.  701.  Sch^to 
Wash.,  Oct.  12,  1775  :  4  Force,  III.,  1035.  Surgeons,  etc  :  Stringer  to  Sch  Oct. 
25,1775:  (ib-,  1523).  Sch.  to  Hancock,  Oct.  18,  1775 '•  ib.,  1093.  Conn.  Courant, 
Sept.  25,  1775. 


Montgomery's  Plans  Upset  445 

In  order  to  reconnoitre  the  fort,  Mott  had  to  wade  knee- 
deep  in  water,  and  remain  soaked  from  head  to  foot  all 
day  long.  'Half  drowned  rats  crawling  thro'  the  swamp,' 
was  Montgomery's  picture  of  his  army.14 

Along  with  the  great  rains  came  sharp,  cold  weather. 
'Very  hard  frost  in  the  Morning  this  20  Days  past,' 
remarked  Oakes  on  the  eleventh  of  October.  About  the 
only  pleasant  day  for  weeks  was  rather  clouded  by  the 
fight  on  the  east  side.  '  Too  hard  for  my  constitution,' 
decided  Mott,  and  everybody  felt  the  same  way.  Danger 
ous  maladies  were  few,  and  deaths  from  disease  fewer; 
but  malarial  fevers,  colds,  rheumatism,  dysentery,  and  a 
legion  of  depressing  ailments  racked  the  bodies  and 
sapped  the  spirits  of  the  army.  With  or  without  *  Spiders 
webb,'  liquor  seemed  a  necessity.  %et  us  have  rum,  my 
dear  General,  else  we  shall  never  be  able  to  go  through 
our  business,'  begged  the  commander;  but  the  rum, 
besides  lacking  somewhat  the  precious  virtues  attributed 
in  those  days  to  its  tawny  drops,  was  '  very  bad,'  a  soldier 
said  ;  and  the  tobacco,  which  might  have  supplied  an 
after-glow  of  psychological  mellowness,  fetched  a  price 
according  to  the  scarcity  of  it.15 

As  General  Schuyler  explained  to  Washington,  it 
would  have  been  venturing  overmuch  to  go  on  to  Mon 
treal,  leaving  the  regulars  feebly  blockaded  in  the  rear,  for 
a  serious  reverse  would  probably  have  meant  the  total  loss 
of  Canadian  good-will,  and  the  total  destruction  of  the 
army, — 'a  vast  risk.'  The  fort  must  somehow  be  dis 
posed  of  first ;  and,  in  order  both  to  escape  from  the 


14  §  Easton  to  Bedel,  Oct.  6,  1775:  N.  Y.  Journal,  Apr.  6,  1775.      Trumbull, 
Journal,   Sept.  19;  Nov.  5.     Ridges:  Better,   Nov.  3,   1775  (4  Force,   III.,  1342). 
Carroll,  Journal,  p.  91.    S.  Mott  to  Trumbull,  Oct.  20,  1775:  ib.,  1124.    Oakes: 
Note  13.     S.  Mott  to  Trumbull,  Oct.  6,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  972.    Montg.  to  Mrs. 
M.,  Oct.  6,  1775:  L,.  Iy.  H[untJ,  Biog.  Notes,  p.  12. 

15  §  Oakes:  Note  13.    S.  Mott,  Oct.  6:  Note  14.     Sickness,  etc.:  Trumbull, 
Journal,  Nov.  5  ;  Soldiers  to  Conn.  Govt.,  Oct.  13,  1775:  Mass.  Hist.  Soc.     Montg. 
to  Sch.,  Oct.  20,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  1132. 


446  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

swamp  and  to  attack  a  weaker  side  of  the  obstacle,  Mont 
gomery  soon  decided  to  plant  his  main  works  on  a  low 
hill  at  the  northwest,16  from  which  he  could  make 
approaches  and  effect  a  breach.  Accordingly,  as  soon  as 
possible,  he  set  the  men  at  work  felling  trees,  building  a 
road  for  his  artillery  through  the  swamp,  and  piling  up 
fascines.  But,  as  the  hill  stood  near  the  fort, — one  of  its 
chief  advantages,— it  could  not  safely  be  occupied  without 
plenty  of  men  and  ammunition  ;  and,  while  these  were 
dribbling  along,  another  very  serious  difficulty  rose  like  a 
spectre.17 

The  design  of  storming  a  fortress  lined  with  scarlet 
coats  did  not  square  with  Colonial  principles  of  strategy. 
'Which  I  look  upon  the  attempt  dangerous,  and  the  event 
dubious,'  commented  Samuel  Mott  upon  it,  and  the  rest 
agreed.  Major  Brown,  always  in  the  fore  and  regarded 
by  his  commander  as  almost  'the  only  Field  officer  of  any 
share  of  abilities,'  assumed  the  task  of  expressing  the 
general  dissatisfaction,  adding  that,  'unless  something 
was  undertaken,  in  a  few  days  there  would  be  a  mutiny; 
and  that  the  universal  sense  of  the  Army'  called  for  a 
bombardment  from  the  eastern  side,  where  the  fort, 
sloping  gently  to  the  river  and  lying  quite  open  to  view, 
looked  most  vulnerable,  and  where  the  hostile  water-craft 
floated  within  easy  reach.  Captain  Weisenfels  had 
already  been  at  work  there  with  a  couple  of  4-pounders 
for  several  days;  and  the  army,  delighted  to  see  the 
barracks  of  the  enemy  suffer,  and  eager  to  escape  from 
dangers  and  hardships,  now  took  the  bit  in  its  teeth. 

Montgomery,  though  trained  as   a  regular  officer,  re- 

i 6  Since  cut  away  to  facilitate  railroad  operations. 

i?  §Sch.  to  Wash.,  Nov.  6,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  1373.  Montg.  to  Sch  Sept, 
28  ;  Oct.  9,  13,  1775  :  ib.,  954,  1056,  1097.  Id.  to  Bedel,  Oct.  2  [1775] :  Emmet  Coll. 

i  s  §  S.  Mott  to  Trumbull,  Oct.  6,  1775 :  4  Force,  III. ,  972.  Id.  to  Sch.,  Oct.  7, 
1775:  Sch.  Papers.  Brown:  Montg.  to  R.  R.  Liv.,  Oct.  5,  [1775]  (I,iv.  Papers. 
i775-i777i  P  51)-  Id-  to  Sch.,  Oct.  13:  4  Force,  III.,  1907.  Ritzema,  Journal,  Oct.  9. 


Montgomery's  Plans  Upset  447 

fleeted  upon  the  matter  with  charity  and  good  sense; 
and  he  informed  his  superior,  that  '  Upon  considering  the 
fatal  consequences  which  might  flow  from  the  want  of 
subordination  and  discipline,  (should  this  ill- humour  con 
tinue,)  my  unstable  authority  over  Troops  of  different 
Colonies,  the  insufficiency  of  the  military  law,  and  my  own 
want  of  power  to  enforce  it,  weak  as  it  is,  I  thought  it 
expedient  to  call  the  Field-Officers  together. '  '  To  a  man, ' 
these  gentlemen  deemed  Montgomery's  reasoning  insuf 
ficient,'  and  the  plan  it  supported  had  to  be  dropped 
forthwith.19 

Only  public  spirit  kept  the  General  'an  hour'  longer  at 
the  head  of  troops  he  could  not  command,  but  he  assured 
the  Council  he  would  enforce  the  measure  they  adopted 
'by  every  effort  in  his  power.'  Accordingly,  Colonel 
Clinton  received  orders  to  move  his  regiment,  the  Third 
New  Yorkers,  across  the  stream  and  plant  a  new  battery 
there  with  heavier  cannon.  For  a  time,  the  British  fired 
vigorously  at  this  new  menace,  and  they  did  great 
execution  among  the  hemlocks  and  balm-of-Gilead  trees  ; 
but  some  days  later  an  officer  reported  a  change  in  the 
music  of  their  guns  :  'At  the  first  of  our  acquaint 
ance  with  them,  they  would  be  bawling  Fire  away,  you 
Yankee  beggars  !  But  their  tune  now  is,  Why  don' t you 
go  home  ?  What  do  you  come  here  for  ?  ' 

This  result  might  be  counted  perhaps  as  a  gratifying 
though  somewhat  unsubstantial  equivalent  for  the  powder 
burned;  but  something  really  contrary  to  the  General's 
expectation  attended  it.  Preston's  trim  schooner,  the 
Royal  Savage,  though  apparently  not  gifted  with 
remarkable  powers  of  offence,  had  the  instinct  of  self-pre- 


19  §  Montg.,  Oct.  13:  Note  18.  Council  of  War:  Sparks  MSS.,  No.  66,  I.,  p.  19. 

20  §  Council:  Note  19.    Ritzema  Journal,  Oct.  13.    I,iv.,  Journal,  Oct.  11-14  ; 
Nov  21      The  new  battery   (two  1 2-pounders )  was  about  300  yards   from  the 
river  and  a  quarter  of  a  mile  S.E.  from  the  battery  (two  4-pounders)  already  at 
work  (Iviv.,  Journal,  Oct.  12).     Officer:  Conn.  Courant,  Nov.  6,  1775. 


448  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

servation  well  developed,  and  a  second  expedition  against 
her  had  come  to  naught.  Montgomery  supposed  that  she. 
would  now  move  out  of  range,  but  she  did  not;  and— 
with  her  stern-post  knocked  away,  nine  holes  in  her  side, 
and  three  in  her  mainmast— she  sank  gradually  to  repose 
at  the  bottom  of  the  river,  escorted  by  the  floating  battery. 
No  doubt,  also,  bricks  and  mortar  flew  about  the  fort  more 
than  ever  before.21 

But  the  General  had  pointed  out  at  the  Council  that, 
even  were  every  building  destroyed,  'the  garrison  could 
not  surrender  without  the  probability  of  an  assault,  which 
could  never  arise  from  any  attack  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  river'  ;  and  so  it  proved.     The  red  banner  floated  yet 
as  proudly  as  ever;  and  Brook  Watson,  safe  in  Montreal, 
airily    informed   his   friend   Butler  that  the  rebels  still 
invested  St.  Johns,  'with  little  hopes  on  their  side,  and 
little  fear  on  ours,  of  its  being  taken.'     Though  cheered 
for  a  while  by  the  fall  of  Chambly,  spirits  fell  again  rap 
idly;  and  the  Canadians,  who  had  been  made  extremely 
nervous  by  the  length  of  the  siege,  became  once  more  a 
peril.      Carleton   seized  the   opportunity,    and   offered  a 
pardon  to  all  who  would  take  up  arms  for  the  Crown ; 
and  James  Livingston,  so  active  and  courageous  through 
all  previous  dark  days,  thought  of  retiring  from  the  field.22 
At  the  same   time,  a  very  dark   cloud  rose   from  the 
horizon.     Montgomery,  though  he  set  down  Preston  quite 
soon  as  unenterprising,  had   naturally  looked  for   some 
attempt  on  the   Governor's  part   at   relieving  his  belea 
guered  fortress.     '  I  make  no  doubt  you  have  had  a  good 
look  out  towards  La   Prairie,  etc.,'  he  cautioned  Bedel, 

21  S  Expedition-  Oakes  (Note  13);  Montg.  to  Bedel    Oct.  4    1775    (Saffell, 
Records    I     S).      The    schooner  had   already   suffered  somewhat  from  the 
American  fire     e  g.,  Safford,  Journal,  Sept.  23.     Montg.  to  Sch.,  Oct.  20,  1775:  4 
£™cTm      1132.    Carroll,  Journal,  p.  76.    Almon,  Rememb.,  1776,  Part  I.,  p. 
f34     Sch   to  P.3V.  B.  Uv.,  Oct.  26, 1775 :  4  Force,  III.,  1195. 

22  §  Council:  Note  19.    Watson,  Oct.  19,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  1600.    Montg.  to 
Sch. :  ib.,  1097.    J.  Liv.  to  Montg.,  Oct.  26,  1775:  ID.,  1195. 


Discouragement  and  Danger  449 

three  days  after  camping  in  the  swamp.  A  party  of  the 
enemy  did,  in  fact,  beach  their  canoes  at  that  lauding  with 
the  intention  of  annoying  the  Americans ;  but  Major 
Brown  captured  their  supplies,  and  happily  extinguished 
the  scheme.  Later,  when  a  force  of  some  five  hundred 
garrisoned  the  point,  they  had  the  pleasure  of  repulsing 
an  attack  and  doing  some  execution.  Warner,  who  took 
post  at  Longueuil,  had  almost  daily  shots  from  the  enemy 


1 


A  VIEW  OF   LONGUEUIL 


and  finally  a  victorious  'little  brush,'  as  Montgomery 
styled  it.  All  these  affairs  were  symptoms  of  danger; 
and,  when  a  London  letter  of  early  July  gave  positive 
notice  that  a  large  force  of  Highlanders,  under  Colonel 
Murray,  had  gone  over  to  help  the  Governor,  the  prospect 
looked  rather  dark.23 


TH    t;-         R"    R>   Liv-  Oct  5  [i775]:    Liv.    Papers,    1775-1777,    p     51. 
Id.  to  Bedel,  Sept.  20,  1775:  Myers  Coll.     Brown:  Id.    to    Sch.,    Sept!  24,  1775 

VOL.    I.  —  29. 


450  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

Of  course  it  was  true  that  Carleton  longed  to  strike  the 
invaders  ;  but  no  such  reinforcements  had  crossed  the 
water,  and  he  knew  not  what  to  do.  '  Taciturnity  and 
Unactivity  are  the  ruling  maxims  in  this  province,' 
growled  Allan  Maclean,  the  old  Scotch  campaigner;  but 
that  was  because,  like  many  other  good  subordinates,  he 
received  less  news  than  his  chief.  Carleton  understood 
the  uncertainty  of  professing  Canadians  only  too  well. 
At  Laprairie  as  well  as  at  Chambly,  fair  hopes  of  gather 
ing  a  corps  of  them  had  vanished.  He  could  have  pre 
dicted  what  befell  Maclean  himself :  people  to  whom  he 
gave  arms  going  over  with  them  to  the  enemy.  On  the 
fourteenth  of  September,  the  British  government  had 
sent  him  news  received  from  Governor  Tryon,  that  (at 
least  >  seven  thousand  Americans  were  to  march  against 
Montreal  and  Quebec  ;  and,  some  time  before  the  twenty- 
fifth  of  October,  the  Governor  had  notice  from  General 
Gage  and  others  that  '  fifteen  or  eighteen  hundred  men 
under  Mr.  Lee'  had  set  out  for  St.  Johns.  With  such 
data  before  him,  Carleton  might  well  be  cautious  and 
reserved ;  yet,  as  the  loyalists  at  Montreal  complained  of 
his  inaction,  he  tried  to  encourage  them  by  making  these 
various  attempts  to  annoy  the  Americans.24 

Finally,  however,  at  the  time  James  Livingston  found 
his  people  so  despondent  over  the  failure  of  the  siege, 
General  Carleton  thought  his  chance  had  come.  Septem 
ber  the  ninth,  Maclean  had  left  Quebec  for  the  upper 
country  with  what  recruits  he  could  gather,  and  the 
next  day  an  outpost  of  about  sixty  Royal  Fusiliers  (the 

(.Force  III  840)  •  Trumbull,  Journal,  Sept.  20.  Sch.  to  P.  V.  B.  Iviv.,  Oct.  26: 
4  Force  III  IIQS.  '  Warner:  i.  Allen,  Vt,  p.  67  ;  Montg.  to  Sen.,  Oct.  20,  1775  (4 
Force  IIL,  1132)  London  letter  (pub!  in  Phila.,  Sept.  22) :  Kssex  Gazette,  Oct.  5. 
24  §  Maclean  to  Harrington,  Nov.  20,  1775:  War  Off.  Orig •  Corres.,  vol  12. 
roi-iPton  tn  nnrtmouth  Sect  21  177=;:  Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Colon.  Corres.,  Quebec. 
? t, ?£  uSul  de ?T  I&v  i!p.  364.  Dartmouth  to  Carleton,  Sept  14,  i775  = 
Can  Arch  Q  ii',  p  220  Zee: cVamah^  to  Dartmouth,  Oct.  25,  i775  (*.,  p.  264). 
Verreau.  Invasion;  pp.  62-64  (Sanguinet);  p.  173  (Badeaux). 


Maclean  Gathers  Forces  451 

7th  Foot)  arrived  at  the  capital  with  orders  to  join  him. 
As  he  slowly  marched,  the  brave  Scot  applied  himself 
to  rousing  the  Canadians.  Not  over  gentle  were  his 
methods.  At  Nicolet,  for  instance,  not  finding  a  man  and 
his  son  who  were  said  to  oppose  taking  up  arms  for  the 
King,  he  demanded  of  the  housewife  where  they  were. 
'I  know  not,'  she  replied. 

'Tell  me,  or  I  will  have  your  cottage  burned,'  he 
threatened. 

^  Tres  bien,  burn  it,'  she  laughed;  '  for  an  old  one  you 
will  give  me  back  a  new  one  !  ' 

The  fire  was  kindled  ;  but  the  old  woman,  instead  of 
telling  where  the  men  had  concealed  themselves,  ran 
wildly  about,  calling  Maclean's  party  very  hard  names, 
wringing  her  hands,  and  invoking  St.  Eustache;  and 
Maclean  concluded  to  have  the  fire  put  out. 

Naturally,  the  habitants  did  not  love  such  an  officer, 
but  they  certainly  feared  him  ;  and,  by  the  middle  of 
October,  when  he  left  Three  Rivers,  he  had  rolled  up  a 
force  of  nearly  four  hundred  Canadians.  With  these, 
backed  by  his  one  hundred  and  twenty  Royal  Highland 
Emigrants  and  the  sixty  Fusiliers,  he  landed  at  Sorel  and 
pushed  on  up  the  river,  levying  some  two  hundred  more 
recruits  as  he  marched.25 

Carleton,  for  his  part,  summoned  the  Indians,—  all 
except  the  Caughnawagas.  'About  threescore  Savages 
from  one  of  our  Villages  are  come  in  this  Evening,'  he 
wrote  Lord  Dartmouth  on  the  twenty-fifth  of  October;  'I 
expect  many  more  soon';  and  the  Canadians,  backsliding 
as  Livingston  had  feared  they  would,  flocked  again  to 
Montreal  in  great  numbers,  —fifteen  hundred,  it  was 
reported.  'Proper  signals  were  agreed  upon  '  by  Carleton 


I775'     Carle*on   to  Dartmouth,  Oct 


45 2   Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

and  Maclean,  and  it  was  arranged  that  the  two  forces, 
uniting  near  St.  Johns,  were  to  overwhelm  Bedel's  post, 
relieve  the  fort,  and  then,  absorbing  its  garrison,  drive 
the  American  army  into  the  river.  'There  was  the 
greatest  probability,'  so  the  British  government  received 
advices  from  Quebec,  '  that  the  Country  would  be  soon 
cleared  of  those  invaders.'  26 

Mid-stream  in  the  St.  Lawrence,  opposite  Montreal, 
lay  St.  Helen's  Island,  a  gently  rising  oval,  well  covered 
with  sere  grain-fields,  ashy-brown  grass,  native  shade 
trees,  and  orchards  like  those  of  old  France.  Here  Gov 
ernor  Carleton  assembled  seven  or  eight  hundred  men, 
counting  Indians  as  such;  and,  late  in  the  afternoon  of 
October  the  thirtieth,  all  pushed  off  in  thirty-five  or  forty 
boats,  with  a  cannon  in  one  of  them,  for  the  shore  of 
Longueuil.  Very  soon  they  were  discovered  by  the 
Americans ;  and  the  Green  Mountain  Boys  and  Second 
Yorkers,  about  three  hundred  or  three  hundred  and  fifty 
in  all,  under  the  command  of  Seth  Warner,  poured  from 
the  spacious  yard  of  Longueuil  castle,  left  its  high  wall 
and  four  peaked  bastions  behind  them  in  the  trees,  and 
hurried  toward  the  low,  winding  beach,  where  the  guard 
was  already  firing.  Observing  that  some  Indians  were 
making  for  the  southern  shore  farther  up,  Warner  sent 
Captain  Potter's  company  to  stop  them,  while  the  rest  of 
his  detachment  awaited  the  main  body  of  the  enemy. 
More  than  six  feet  in  height,  with  bold  though  genial 
features,  well  moulded  and  commanding  in  form,  spare 
and  straight  as  an  Indian,  strong  as  a  Hercules,  and  virile 
as  the  Dying  Gaul,  the  American  leader  stood  conspicu 
ous.  But  modesty  counted  among  his  fine  qualities,  and 


2  6  §  Carleton  to  Dartmouth,  Oct.  25,  1775 :  Note  25.  Maseres  (quoting),  Add. 
Papers,  p.  IOQ.  Quebec  letter,  Oct.  25,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  1185.  Official  notice, 
Whitehall,  Dec.  26,  1775:  4  Force,  IV.,  461. 


The  British  Are  Beaten  Off  453 

he  was  too  modest  now  to  show  himself  or  his  strength 
prematurely.27 

Nearer  and  nearer  came  the  flotilla  of  boats,  led  by 
Carleton,  St.  Luc  la  Corne,  and  Lorimier.  But  now  the 
Americans,  marching  at  a  quick  step  to  the  water's  edge, 
opened  sharply  to  right  and  to  left,  and  on  the  instant  a 
4-pounder,  an  arrival  of  the  very  evening  before,  emptied 
a  well-aimed  load  of  grape,  ably  seconded  with  musketry, 
into  the  boats.  This  effective  fire  threw  Carleton's  troops 
instantly  into  confusion ;  the  appearance  of  a  reserved  corps 
of  Provincials  suggested  reinforcements  ;  and  the  flotilla 
hastily  recoiled  in  disorder,  carrying  behind  its  red  and 
shattered  gunwales,  it  was  reported,  some  forty  or  fifty 
dead  and  about  as  many  wounded. 

1  What  shall  I  do?'  asked  Montigny,  who  had  charge  of 
the  cannon. 

'Go  and  have  supper  in  town,'  replied  the  Governor  in 
disgust. 

A  couple  of  Canadians,  wading  ashore,  hid  behind  some 
rocks  in  the  hope  of  rescue,  but  the  keen  evening  wind 
soon  brought  them  shivering  to  the  Americans  ;  and, 
about  the  same  time,  Captain  Potter,  arriving  first  at  the 
rendezvous,  welcomed  the  savages  with  a  brisk  fire, 
silenced  the  yells  of  some  forever,  and  succeeded  in  taking 
a  couple  of  Conosadagas.  No  American  received  even 
a  scratch. 


§  Franquet,  Voyages,  p.  27.  Jodoin  and  V.,  I/mgueuil,  p.  2Q6  Picture  of 
.  Castle  in  Chat,  de  Ramezay,  Montreal.  Warner  :  Chipman  S  Warner 
p.  78  ;  Hall,  Vt.,  p.  473.  For  the  fight  and  sequel  :  Montg.  to  Sch.,  Nov  *  i77c 
(4  Force  III.,  1392);  Id.  to  Id.,  Nov.  24,  i775  (ib.,  1694);  Liv.,  Journal,  Oct.  30  • 
?£  A'  ^aPrame'  Nov-  3,i77S  (4  Force,  III.,  1342);!.  Allen,  Vt,  pp.  67  68-  Claus 
(No  Am.  Notes  and  Q.,  I.,  i,  p.  24);  Verreau,  Invasion,  p.  6=5  (Sanguine)  •  o 
i74(Badeaux);  p.  231  (Berthelot);  pp.  259-261  (I,orimier);  Bedel  to  N\  H.  Com 

' 


. 

?l  y'e^\  ;VNOV'  2)  *7J5  (4  Force'  HI-'  T2°7)'  ^indsay  (Can.  Rev.,  II.,  No.  4,' 
Feb.,  1826);  Maseres,  Add.  Papers,  p.  109  ;  J.  Uv.to  Montg.  [Oct  22  i77d  (Cont 
Cong  Papers,  letters,  I,,  78,  XIV.,  p.  3);  Precis  of  Ope*  B.  Trumb7ull  Nov. 
.775  vConn.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  VII.,  p.  169);  Ritzema,  Journal,  Oct.  31  •  I,egge  to 
Dartmouth,  Dec.  29,  1775  (Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Colon.  Corr.,  N.  Sco  Vol  X  p  84)  • 
Better,  Nov.  3,  1775(4  Force,  III.,  1344);  Carleton  to  Dartmouth,  Nov.  £'iV« 
(Note  25).  We  have  no  contemporary  report  of  this  affair  from  one  who  was 
present  and  some  of  the  details  in  the  text,  though  resting  on  respecab  le 
authorities,  cannot  be  considered  authoritative 


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I     J! 


St.  Johns  in  Distress  455 

Night  had  now  fallen ;  but  in  the  morning  Heman  Allen 
set  out  for  St.  Johns  with  the  prisoners,  and  news  of  the 
victory  flew  north  toward  Sorel.  Maclean's  men,  who  heard 
it  near  St.  Denis,  began  at  once  to  desert;  while  the  peas 
ants  broke  down  bridges,  and,  in  every  way  they  could, 
took  vengeance  for  his  violent  style  of  recruiting.  To 
advance  now  was  useless,  even  if  possible ;  and  the 
lieutenant  beat  a  retreat  like  his  chief.  The  grand  stroke 
had  totally  failed. 

By  this  time,  affairs  in  the  fort  of  St.  John  had  become 
somewhat  embarrassed.  At  first,  no  doubt,  the  garrison 
had  shared  the  confidence  of  the  loyalists.  Like  Monsieur 
Oriet,  they  felt  sure  the  Americans  could  neither  *  batter  it 
in  breach  '  nor  '  carry  it  by  assault '  ;  while,  should  the 
siege  last  until  winter,  the  wood  of  the  vessels  and  the 
pickets  of  the  old  works  would  keep  the  hearth  bright.  As 
time  passed,  however,  certain  unpleasant  features  of 
the  situation  revealed  themselves.  The  barracks,  even 
though  supplemented  with  lodgings  of  rough  plank,  had 
not  room  for  all,  and  sleeping  on  bare  boards  proved 
rather  tiresome.  Dropping  flat  on  the  muddy  ground,  as 
everybody  did,  whenever  the  lookout's  cry  of  '  Shot  !  ' 
gave  notice  that  an  American  cannon  had  spoken,  was  at 
least  annoying.  Even  crouching  behind  mounds  of  earth 
or  squeezing  into  the  bomb-proof  cellars  grew  tedious. 
Listening  to  hurrahs  from  the  enemy  when  reinforce 
ments  came  or  watching  lights  that  appeared  to  herald  an 
assault  gave  little  comfort.  Too  many  people  crowded 
around  the  bakery  on  the  cold,  wet  mornings.  Wine 
gave  out  before  the  third  day ;  half-rations  were  ordered 
in  a  fortnight ;  clothes  lost  their  nap  and  a  good  deal  more 
than  that  ;  shoes  wore  out,  and  most  of  the  garrison  had 
to  '  tear  off  the  skirts  of  their  coats  to  wrap  about  their 
feet,'  it  was  reported  at  Quebec.28 

28  §  Oriet:  Tryon  to  Dartmouth,  Nov.  u,  1775:  Pub.  Rec.  Off,  Am.  and  W. 


456    Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

More  serious  difficulties  came  apace.  The  government 
and  the  whole  outside  world  almost  vanished.  Once 
L,orimier  got  in  at  night  by  leaping  and  bounding  past  the 
American  sentries  like  a  buck ;  but,  when  Carleton  sent 
him  to  arrange  for  evacuation,  he  could  not  pass,  and 
other  messengers  fared  worse  instead  of  better.  The 
favorite  asylum  of  the  soldiers — the  stone  house  in  the 
northern  fort — was  almost  wrecked  by  a  shell.  While 
Major  Preston  sat  drinking  tea  with  some  officers  one 
morning,  a  cannon-ball  passed  through  the  chamber, 
covered  the  table  with  debris,  and  drove  the  corner  of  a 
brick  into  Captain  Strong's  leg.  Later  in  the  day,  four 
officers  were  injured  by  another  ball  in  the  same  room. 
Sometimes  the  missiles  pierced  the  gate  of  the  fort, 
sometimes  they  skimmed  the  parapet,  sometimes  they  flew 
squarely  in  from  across  the  river,  and  sometimes,  flying 
over  the  tree- tops  from  an  unknown  source,  they  appeared 
to  drop  from  the  clouds.  Fifty-seven  hits  were  counted 
on  Christie's  mansion,  and  a  house  in  the  southern 
redoubt  was  so  riddled  that  balls  went  through  old  holes 
repeatedly.  Indeed,  visitors  of  that  kind  searched  every 
corner  of  the  fort,  and  when  Foucher  wished  to  read 
in  peace  he  went  outside.29 

The  sinking  of  the  vessels  reduced  the  means  of 
defence  and  also  cut  down  the  supply  of  fuel.  Sounds  of 
distant  firing  woke  themost  anxious  thoughts:  was  succor 
coming?  were  the  enemy  scoring  a  triumph?  The  fall 
of  Chambly  brought  consternation.  Men  taken  prisoners 
by  the  Americans  bore  testimony  that  the  bombs  and  balls 

I.,  Vol.  185,  p.  693.  Barracks:  Garneau,  Canada,  II.,  p.  449.  Foucher,  Journal. 
Carroll,  Journal,  p.  go.  Verreau  (Sanguinet),  Invasion,  p.  73.  Quebec  letter: 
Maseres,  Add.  Papers,  p.  94.  Richardson  to  Tryon:  Pub.  Rec.  Ofl.  Am  and 
W.  I.,  Vol.  x86,  p.  33. 

29  §(This  paragraph  and  the  next.)  Foucher,  Journal.  Verreau  (L,orimier), 
Invasion,  pp.  248,  257,  259.  Oriet:  Note  28  Richardson:  Note  28.  Sch.  to  Han 
cock,  Nov.  it,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  1520.  J.  Liv.  to  Montg.,  Sept.  27,  1775  :ib.,  952. 
Hazen  to  Hancock  (account  of  damages),  Feb.  18,  1776:  4  Force,  IV.,  1186! 
Union:  I<iv.,  Journal,  Nov.  21. 


The  Fort  is  Vigorously  Attacked         457 

did  '  mighty  execution,'  and  would  soon  reduce  the  fort 
ress;  and,  while  those  who  remained  were  of  a  different 
mind,  and  the  union  above  each  redoubt  flew  bravely  still 
like  a  true  knight's  pennon,  the  time  was  now  approach* 
ing  when  the  stoutest  heart  must  reflect. 

Satisfied  at  length  that  a  bombardment  from  the  other 
side  of  the  river  could  not  change  the  color  of  the  flag  at 
St.  Johns,  Montgomery's  army  once  more  permitted  its 
commander  to  command ;  and,  on  the  twenty-fifth  of 
October,  cannon  could  be  seen  slowly  wending  toward 
the  high  ground  northwest  of  the  fort.  The  next  day 
the  arrival  of  General  Wooster's  three  hundred  and  thirty- 
five  Connecticut  men  and  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  of 
the  Fourth  Yorkers  ( Holmes' s)  raised  the  army  to  some 
two  thousand  effectives,  and  the  hill  could  be  defended. 
'I  shall  send  almost  everybody  from  hence  to  your  post,' 
wrote  Montgomery  to  Bedel;  'Indeed,  I  shall  go  myself/ 
That  night  some  trusty  Canadians  took  a  brace  of  12- 
pounders  past  the  fort  by  water,  to  join  the  smaller 
ordnance  already  sent  down.  Fascines  and  the  plank  for 
gun  platforms  were  prepared.  '  In  short,'  ordered  the 
General,  '  let  Col.  Mott  take  care  that  nothing  be 
wanting.'30 

During  the  night  of  Saturday,  the  twenty-eighth,  men 
began  to  ply  the  spade  vigorously  on  the  rising  ground 
within  two  hundred  and  fifty  yards  of  the  fort.  Only  one 
embrasure  had  been  opened  in  that  direction,  for  the 
strength  of  the  works  had  been  aimed  toward  the  south, 
but  out  of  that  flew  shells  and  grape-shot  briskly  enough 
in  the  moonlight.  Yet  by  Wednesday  morning  a  fascine 
battery  stood  complete,  with  two  or  three  12-pounders, 
a  Q-pounder,  and  several  mortars  in  position  ;  and  a  little 


30  §  Ritzema,  Journal,  Oct.  25.  Reinforcements:  Sch.  to  Hancock,  Oct.  21, 
1775  (4  Force,  III.,  1130);  Id.  to  Wash.,  Nov.  6,  1771;  (ib.,  1373).  2000:  B.  Trumbull 
to  —  — ,  Nov.  3,  1775  (Conn.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  VII.,  p.  169).  Montg.  to  Bedel, 
Oct.  26,  1775  :  Saffell.  Records,  p.  25 


458  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

before  ten  o'clock  the  artillery  opened  fire.  The  four 
guns  on  the  east  side  chimed  in,  and  for  about  six  hours 
the  Americans  '  kept  an  almost  incessant  blaze  on  them,' 
as  Lamb  phrased  it,  '  which  the  enemy  returned  with  the 
greatest  spirit.'  As  a  martial  function,  it  was  admirable; 
but,  unhappily,  as  a  bombardment  the  fire  accomplished 
little.31 


All  through  the  siege,  both  sides  appeared  to  be  under 
the  protection  of  a  special  providence.  Grape-shot  rattled 
around  Samuel  Mott  *  like  hail,'  yet  never  touched  him  ; 
Barlow  lived  to  report  that  twenty  shells  broke  *  within 
two  rods'  of  him  in  the  new  battery  Sunday  night  ;  one 
bomb  fell  only  three  feet  from  the  General  ;  and  yet,  in 
spite  of  twenty-five  hundred  balls  and  as  many  shells, 
which  the  Americans  reckoned  were  fired  at  them,  not 
over  twenty  of  the  besiegers  were  killed  in  seven  weeks. 
Missiles  traversed  the  houses  inside  the  fort  with  similar 
considerateness.  Bricks  flew  about  like  so  many  feathers. 
When  the  officers'  quarters,  during  this  furious  bombard- 


3i  §  Barlow,  Journal,  Oct.  28-31.    [I^amh]  to ,  Nov.  3,  1775:  4  Force, 

III.,  1343.  Better,  Nov.  3,  1775:  ib.,  1344.  Embrasure:  Council  of  War  (Sparks 
MSS.,  No.  66,  I.,  p.  19).  Moon:  Smith,  Arnold's  March,  p.  460.  Foucher, 
Journal.  Almon,  Rememb.,  1776,  Part  II.,  p.  126.  N.  Y.  Gazet.,  Nov.  16,  1775. 


Negotiations  for  Surrender  459 

tnent,  were  demolished  by  a  shell,  all  got  out  in  time 
except  huge  Salaberry,  and  this  'dear  child,'  as  his  sisters 
in  the  convent  always  addressed  him,  was  discovered 
without  a  scratch,  when  the  dust  blew  away,  holding  up 
a  fragment  of  the  building  on  his  shoulders.  The  total 
number  killed  within  the  walls  from  first  to  last  was  less 
than  twenty-five  ;  and  even  under  this  present  furious 
cannonade,  which  Ritzema  fancied  must  have  '  knocked 
everything  in  the  Fort  to  Shatters,'  though  Preston's 
parapet  suffered  badly,  and  the  stone  house  was  laid 
waste  again,  the  earthen  ramparts  gave  no  sign  of  yield 
ing,  and  few  of  the  men  behind  them  fell.38 

The  army  had  prepared  to  assault  the  fort ;  but,  with  no 
breach  to  enter  by,  nothing  of  the  sort  could  be  attempted. 
Seeing  that  his  guns  were  too  light,  Montgomery — about 
an  hour  before  the  early  sunset — ordered  the  fire  to  cease, 
for  missiles  of  a  better  sort  had  that  moment  arrived  and 
he  desired  to  try  them.  These  were  the  prisoners  from 
L,ongueuil,  charged  with  the  news  of  Carleton's  repulse  ; 
and  one  of  them,  escorted  by  a  white  flag  and  a  drummer 
beating  for  a  parley,  carried  the  tidings  and  a  letter  from 
Montgomery  into  the  fort.  A  deserter  has  reported  the 
state  of  your  ammunition  and  provisions,  and  the  damage 
done,  wrote  the  American  leader ;  succor  is  now  im 
possible  ;  why  prolong  *  a  useless  defence  '  ?  " 

But  Preston  understood  the  value  of  days.  It  was 
true  that  the  rations  had  been  cut  down  a  second  time  just 
after  Chambly  fell,  and  the  magazine  resembled  Mother 


32§Mott  to  Trumbull,  Oct.  6,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  972.  Barlow,  Journal, 
Sept.  22  ;  Oct.  29.  Trumbull,  Journal,  Nov.  5.  Ritzema,  Journal.  Foucher, 
Journal.  Salaberry:  Mgr.  de  St.  Vallier,  Part  II.,  p.  416.  Carroll,  Journal,  p. 
89.  British  return:  Can.  Arch.,  M,  317,  p.  255.  Maclean's  Return:  ib.,  p.  248. 
REMARK  XXVIII. 

33    §  L,amb,  lyetter,   Ritzema,  Barlow,  Foucher,  Almon  :  Note  31.  Montg, 
to  Sch.,  Nov. 
1775  :  Sparks 
ferred  from  Prestot 
pp .  75-76.     A.S  to  certain  unimportant  details  reports  do  not  agree. 


460  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

Hubbard's  larder;  but,  at  all  events,  the  garrison  could 
hold  on  a  little  longer.  So  Captain  Strong  came  out 
shortly  with  a  flag,  and,  passing  blindfolded  through  the 
Provincial  camp  to  the  General's  tent,  delivered  a  reply. 
The  prisoner,  it  stated,  was  '  frequently  subject  to  fits  of 
insanity,'  wherefore  little  stress  could  be  laid  on  what  he 
had  said,  and  the  deserter  was  not  well-informed;  however, 
'should  no  attempt  be  made'  to  relieve  the  place  *  within 
four  days,'  he  would  make  a  proposition  to  surrender. 

'  The  advanced  season  of  the  year,'  answered  Mont 
gomery,  *  will  not  admit  of  your  proposal. ' 

He  declared  the  prisoner's  report  trustworthy,  offered 
permission  to  examine  the  other  French  captive,  and  gave 
notice  that  unless  the  fort  surrendered  immediately,  it 
would  be  '  unnecessary  to  make  any  future  proposals ' : 
the  garrison  would  have  to  suffer  the  rigors  of  war.  This 
led  to  a  suspension  of  hostilities.  The  following  day 
(November  2),  the  prisoner  on  the  sloop  was  examined, 
like  the  first  one,  '  upon  the  Holy  Evangelists  '  ;  and 
finally,  in  the  evening,  after  a  good  deal  of  discussion  over 
terms,  the  articles  of  capitulation  were  signed.  The 
bulwark  of  Canada,  nearly  all  its  regular  troops,  and  a 
fine  outfit  of  cannon — nineteen  of  brass  and  twenty-two  of 
iron — besides  seven  mortars  and  quantities  of  naval  stores, 
passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Americans.34 

The  next  morning  witnessed  a  scene  well  fitted  to 
instruct  the  people  of  Canada.  On  the  plain  south  of  the 
fort,  all  the  besieging  troops  were  drawn  up  in  their  best 
attire.  In  the  three  Connecticut  regiments  no  uniforms 
were  visible,  except  as  officers  had  chosen  to  provide 
themselves,  or  a  veteran  of  the  French  and  Indian  war 
displayed  a  dingy  scarlet  coat  and  three-cornered  laced 


34  §  See  Note  33.    Precis  of  Oper.    Inventory :  4  Force,  III.,  1395      Terms i 

ID.,  1394. 


j  f^^^ 

*     I; 


LL  rSscY 

5  •  -•  -*v.  y   '•'  i  i 


St.  Johns  Yields  465 

hat  consecrated   at    lyouisburg  ;   but    the   officers    wore 
ribbons  of  various  colors  to  denote  their  rank,  and  three 
standards — Wooster's    yellow,   Hinman's    crimson,   and 
Waterbury's  white— fluttered  smartly  in  the  breeze,  dis 
playing,  like  the  drums,  the  Colony's  arms,  with  its  de 
vout  motto,  Qui  Transtulit  Sustinet,  inscribed  around  them 
in  gilt.     Very   formidable   looked   the   regulation  brass- 
mounted  muskets,  with  gleaming  barrels  nearly  four  feet 
long,  carrying  bullets  three-quarters  of  an  inch  in  diameter, 
and  very  deadly  the  broad  bayonets  fourteen  inches  in 
length.     Here  and  there  a  pioneer's  rifle  or  the  heavier 
weapon  of  the  duck-hunter  broke  the  evenness  of  the  line; 
but  what  these  arms  lacked  in  regularity,  they  gained 
in  effectiveness.     Best  of  all  were  the  men  themselves. 
'Whoever  sees  the  Connecticut  troops,'  wrote  Schuyler, 
'admires  their  Strength,  Stature,  Youth  &  Agility';  and 
they    never    had    looked    prouder    than    they     looked 
now.35 

The  Yorkers  had  uniform  coats,  each  battalion  dis 
tinguished  by  the  color  of  its  cuffs  and  facings  ;  and  even 
the  First  Regiment,  standing  very  straight,  decorated 
with  shoulder  belts  crossing  on  breast  and  back,  and 
accoutred  with  haversacks,  canteens,  and  musket -slings, 
had,  as  Montgomery  said,  the  look  of  regulars.  Captain 
Lamb  and  his  artillery  company,  all  in  extra- fine  blue- 
and-buff,  as  became  an  elite  corps,  outshone  the  infantry; 
but  yonder  a  squad  of  Green  Mountain  Boys  from 
lyOngueuil,  strapping  fellows  dressed  out  in  green  coats  '  of 
large  size  '  with  handsome  red  facings,  attracted  perhaps 
as  much  attention.  Kpaulets  were  very  scarce,  but  swords 
and  ribbons  distinguished  the  officers.  Marquees  and 
regulation  tents  raised  their  shining  heads  behind  the  line 

35  §  Plain:  See  Terms  (Note  34).  Clark,  Waterbury's  Regt.,  p.  7.  Sch.  to 
Cong.,  July  2,  i775:Cont.  Cong.  Papers,  153,  I.,  p.  12.  Hinman,  Conn.,  p. 
165.  Johnston,  Record,  p.  93.  Better,  Apr.  23,  1775:  Frothingham,  Siege,  p.  103. 


464  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony     . 

of  troops,  and  the  vast  pines  of  the  forest  made  a  sombre 
but  magnificent  background.36 

At  eight  o'clock  the  sound  of  music  was  heard,  and  the 
garrison  of  St.  Johns  filed  out  under  arms.  Vanquished 
after  a  plucky  fight,  they  were  given  all  the  honors  of 
war;  and,  in  spite  of  worn-out  shoes  and  threadbare 
uniforms,  they  marched  with  dignity  as  well  as  precision. 

First  came  the  26th  Foot  in  red  coats  faced  with  pale- 
yellow,  bearing  a  pale-yellow  flag  with  blue  lines  and 
a  red  centre,  resplendent  with  the  crown,  sphinx,  dragon, 
and  wreath  of  thistles, — for  this  was  the  Cameronian 
regiment;  and  after  them  appeared  a  large  squad  of  the 
Royal  Fusiliers,  in  red  coats  with  blue  facings,  white  lace 
with  a  blue  stripe  in  it,  and  high  grenadier  caps  decorated 
with  a  rose,  a  garter,  a  crown,  and  a  galloping  white 
horse  ;  a  few  of  the  Royal  Artillery  in  coats  of  dark  blue, 
breeches  and  waistcoats  of  white,  red  facings  and  sash,  gold 
lace,  cocked  hats,  and  jack-boots  ;  and,  behind  these,  a 
few  jaunty  marines  from  the  Gaspe,  in  pigtails  and 
short  petticoats,  headed  by  Lieutenant  Hunter  in  blue 
and  white,  plentifully  be-starred  with  gilt  buttons.  The 
Royal  Highland  Emigrants  followed  in  due  order,  and 
after  them  the  Canadian  gentry,  hanging  their  heads  a 
little  but  far  too  vivacious  to  hang  them  long  ;  then  a 
brace  of  Indians;  and  finally  the  carpenters  and  work 
people.37 

36  §  N.  Y.  Uniform:  4  Force,  II.,  1312,  1338  ;  N.  Y.  Cong.,  to  N.  Y.  Delegs., 
Oct.  4,  1775  (4  Force,  III.,  1268).  Montg.  to  Sch.,  Oct.  31,  1775:  Sparks  MSS., 
No.  60,  p.  17.  Lamb's  uniform:  4  Force,  II.,  1675  ;  III.,  17.  G.  M.  B.  uniform: 
N.  Y.  Cong.,  Aug.  15,  1775  (4  Force,  III.,  530).  Officers:  Orders,  July  23,  1775  (4 
Force,  II.,  1738);  Orders,  July  14,  1775  (Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  Proc.,  Jan.,  1859,  p. 
152).  Marquees :  Johnston,  Record,  p.  93. 

3?  §Carleton's  return:  Can.  Arch.,  M,  317,  p.  255.  List  of  Canads.:  Can. 
Arch.J),  ii,  p.  284.  Artificers:  Carleton  to  Dartmouth,  Nov.  5,  1775  (Bancroft 
Coll.,  F/ng.  and  Am.,  Aug.,  i775-Dec.,  1776,  p.  145).  Terms:  4  Force,  III.,  1394. 
Lindsay:  Can.  Review,  Vol.  II.,  No.  4,  Feb.,  1826.  Montg.  to  Sch.,  Nov.  3,  1775: 
4  Force,  III.,  1392.  Foucher,  Journ.  Barlow,  Journ.  Trumbull,  Journ.  Ritzema, 
Journal.  Letters,  Nov.  3.  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  1343,  1344.  British  uniforms  and 
colors:  Official  Army  List  for  1776  (Pub.  Rec.  Off.);  data  kindly  supplied  by 
British  War  and  Admiralty  Offices;  Cannon,  'Record  yth  Fusil.,  p.  24  ;  Mac 


A  Lesson  for  the  Canadians  465 

Trailing  a  pair  of  guns,  with  matches  burning,  colors 
flying,  drums  beating,  and  fifes  loudly  screaming  defiance 
as  if  nothing  had  occurred,  they  marched  around  the  fort 
and  drew  up  in  line.  Captain  Lamb,  with  his  picked 
men  and  a  detachment  from  every  regiment  in  the 
American  army,  passed  them  in  front,  and  moved  on  to 
occupy  the  works.  Then,  at  Preston's  command,  the 
British  forces  laid  down  their  arms.  'Brave  men  like 
you,'  said  Montgomery,  'deserve  an  exception  to  the  rules 
of  war;  let  the  officers  and  the  volunteers  take  back  their 
swords !  '  38 

This  done,  the  prisoners  moved  off  to  the  bateaux.  It 
was  a  hard  moment  for  Preston,  but  Montgomery  suffered 
no  less,  perhaps,  for  the  colors  long  reverenced  with  a 
soldier's  devotion  lay  now  at  his  feet.  '  'T  is  a  strange 
world,  my  masters,'  he  may  well  have  thought  again  ; 
and  one  of  the  captured  officers  before  him  was  to  prove 
it  afresh.  Stepping  with  a  bold,  martial  air  to  the  boats, 
a  light,  trimly  built  young  lieutenant,  with  dark  eyes 
and  pink  cheeks,  floated  away  cheerily  into  his  first 
captivity  :  his  second  was  to  begin  less  honorably  and 
end  less  happily,  for  his  name  was  Andre.39  But  such  is 
the  fortune  of  war  ;  and  not  a  few  of  the  victorious  army 
were  to  experience  luck  equally  unexpected,  within  the 
space  of  a  few  weeks,  in  Canada  itself. 

Personal  feelings  and  fortunes,  however,  signified  little. 
What  did  count  was  the  fact — illustrated  broadly  and  in 
colors  by  this  glorious  little  pageant — that  British  flags, 


donald,  Roy.  Artill.,  passim;  Clowes,  Navy,  III.,  p.  348  ;  Robinson,  British  Fleet, 
pp.  497,  500.  (No  uniform  is  given  the  Emigrants  here,  because  the  author 
doubts  whether  they  had  had  time  to  receive  their  equipment  before  the  siege 
began.)  Vivacious:  Knox  Papers,  II.,  p.  21.  Verreau  (Berthelot),  Invasion, 
p.  232.  The  order  of  the  corps  is  inferential.  REMARK  XXIX. 

38  §  See  Note  37.     Leake,  Lamb,  p.  116.      [Lamb]  to ,  Nov.  3,  1775:4 

Force,  III.,  1343.     Montg. :  Foucher,  Journal. 

39  Apptd.    Lieut,   in   7th  Foot,    Sept.  24,  1771:    MS.   Records,   War  Office, 
London.     Portrait  in  oils,  Corcoran  Gallery,  Wash.,  D.  C. 

VOL.  I.— 30. 


466  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

British  uniforms  of  many  patterns,  and  a  substantial 
force  of  British  regulars  had  surrendered  to  American 
volunteers. 


XVI 
MORE  VICTORIES 

BLESSED  be  God  ! '  cried  an  American  soldier  at 
Laprairie,  when  he  knew  that  St.  Johns  had  fallen ; 
and  every  patriot  heart  thrilled  with  joy.  Captain  Lamb 
went  a  step  farther,  and,  in  his  ardent  fashion,  called  this 
telling  stroke  'a  most  fatal  stab  to  the  hellish  machinations 
of  the  foes  of  freedom.'  Schuyler,  not  so  close  to  the 
enemy's  guns,  calmly  hoped  the  'happy  event'  would  be 
'followed  by  the  reduction  of  all  Canada.'  The  habitants ', 
'  who  could  not  think  the  Bostonians  .  .  .  were  really  in 
earnest,  until  they  saw  St.  John's  surrender,'  took  to  heart 
the  fine  lesson  in  confidence.  'Where  this  will  end,  God 
knows  ! '  exclaimed  Hugh  Wallace  to  Haldimand.  Carle- 
ton,  viewing  the  case  from  his  elevation  of  thought,  found 
some  comfort  in  reflecting  that  for  eight  weeks  the  enemy 
had  been  checked,  but  he  wrote  sadly  to  Dartmouth,  that 
his  chief  aims  for  the  defence  of  the  province  were  thus 
*  brought  to  a  conclusion '  ;  and  obstinate  Germain, 
though  entrenched  in  royal  favor  beyond  the  seas, 
admitted  that  a  '  fair  prospect'  had  been  '  clouded.'  Yet  St. 
Johns  was  after  all  the  gate,  not  the  castle  ;  winter  already 
began  to  blacken  the  sky  and  whiten  the  fields ;  the  weak 
nesses  of  the  American  army  had  not  all  been  conjured 
away  ;  and  Montreal,  fortified  and  garrisoned,  had  still  to 
be  taken.1 


1  §  Better,  Nov.  3,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  1342.     [I,amb]  to ,  Nov.  3,  1775: 

ib.,  1343.    Sch.  to  Wash.,  Nov.  7,  1775:  ib.,  1395.     Wallace:  Can.  Arch.,  B,  19, 

467 


468   Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

Rich  and  influential,  it  was  a  stake  worth  an  effort ; 
and,  in  addition,  the  island  city  contained  a  prize  greater 
than  itself,  as  the  gift  upon  the  altar  is  greater  than  the 
altar :  for  Carleton  was  there.  The  Governor  counted 
for  more  than  all  the  walls  in  Canada,  because  a 
sword  counts  for  more  than  a  shield.  Aside  from  him, 
what  had  the  British  cause  ?  Cramahe,  the  Lieutenant- 
Governor,  a  functionary  with  the  soul  of  a  function 
ary,  could  write  letters  and  sign  pay-rolls.  Maclean,  a 
fearless  officer  yet  only  a  lieutenant,  could  hold  a  post  or 
execute  an  order.  But  the  crisis  called  for  a  great  will, 
a  great  mind,  a  great  authority;  some  one  to  overawe 
weakness  with  a  countenance  of  adamant  ;  some  one  to 
give  orders  that  all  would  accept  as  good;  a  fortress  and 
an  army  in  himself.  Only  one  such  man  existed  on  the 
British  side  in  Canada.  That  man  was  Carleton;  and 
here  was  Carleton  in  Montreal,  supported  by  hardly 
enough  troops  for  an  escort.  With  him,  like  a  dower 
with  a  bride,  were  two  thousand  barrels  of  priceless 
gunpowder.* 

But  first  a  number  of  smaller  matters  required  atten 
tion.  Captured  stores  had  to  be  looked  after.  Ammuni 
tion  and  equipment  needed  replenishing.  Some  of  the 
troops  laid  aside  their  miserable  guns  and  armed  them 
selves  with  first-class  muskets,  lately  the  property  of  King 
George.  The  artillery  and  supplies  necessary  for  the 
siege  of  Montreal  were  selected  and  made  ready. 
Wagons  had  to  be  provided.  Garrisons  for  St.  Johns 
and  Chambly  had  to  be  detailed,  and  the  whole  arrange 
ment  of  the  forces  readjusted.  Captain  Cheeseman  under 
took  to  raise  the  two  British  vessels  ;  and  soon  the 

p.  141.  Carleton  to  Dartmouth,  Nov.  5,  1775 :  Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Colon.  Corres.,  Que 
bec,  n,  p.  445.  Germain  to  Tryon,  Dec.  23.  1775:  Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Am.  and  W.  T  , 
Vol.  185,  p.  747. 

2  Powder .  Maclean  to  Harrington,   Nov.  20,   1775  (War  Off.,  Orig  Corres 
Vol.  12). 


Maclean  is  Driven  Away  469 

schooner  and  floating  battery  emerged  from  their  baptismal 
font  as  the  Yankee  and  the  Douglas* 

All  these  matters  well  in  hand,  the  enemy  could  be 
remembered.  The  first  touch  of  cold  weather  would  see 
the  Americans  'moving,'  Brook  Watson  had  opined;  and 
certainly  cold  weather  had  arrived.  Captain  Lamb,  send 
ing  a  friend  the  news,  told  him  that  his  '  fingers  and  senses 
were  so  benumbed  with  cold'  that  he  could  hardly  write. 
A  northeast  wind  from  Iceland  blew  furiously  up"  the  St. 
Lawrence,  and  the  snow  fell  fast.  Watson  was  right! 
The  Americans  did  move  ;  but  not  as  the  *  sincere  friend  ' 
had  expected.* 

^  The  very  day  St.  Johns  opened  its  gates  (November  3), 
Easton's  regiment,  including  the  ever-active  Major 
Brown,  set  off  down  the  river  amid  the  drifting  snow. 
Livingston,  with  about  one  thousand  Canadians,  had 
already  reached  La  Tours;  but  Montgomery  wished  to 
make  sure  of  Maclean's  discomfiture  and—  of  something 
else  as  well.  In  three  days  Brown  reached  Sorel,  and  even 
crossed  the  St.  Lawrence.  Maclean,  abandoned  by  his 
forced  recruits,  had  put  his  troops  on  the  schooner  Pro 
vidence  and  the  snow  Fell,  waiting  off  the  mouth  of  the 
Richelieu,  and  still  clung  to  this  point  of  his  disappointed 
hope.  But  not  long.  Cannon,  as  well  as  troops,  went 
down  the  river;  and,  on  the  morning  of  the  eighth,  open 
ing  suddenly  on  the  Fell  at  less  than  six  hundred  feet, 
they  '  plumped  her  through  in  many  places/  as  Brown 
phrased  it,  *  before  she  could  tow  off.'  'Oh  Lord,  oh 
Lord  !  '  screamed  the  ashen  darkies  aboard.  Even  Captain 
Napier's  hundred  '  true  tars  '  were  glad  to  slip  the  cable  ; 
and  Brown  wrote  headquarters  the  same  day:  '  We  are 


Remembrancer<  w*  ™  IT.,  p. 

S  :  4 


470  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

entirely  at  leisure;  having  swept  land  and  sea.'  Maclean 
in  the  Fell  went  down  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  the  Provi 
dence — transporting  a  part  of  the  Fusiliers — proceeded 

to  Montreal;  but 
the  Americans, 
expecting  work 
to  do  by  and  by 
at  S  o  r  e  1,  re 
mained.5 

Montgomery 
knew  of  these 
hostile  vessels; 
and,  not  aware 
how  lightly  they 
were  armed, 
judged  it  neces 
sary  to  move 
against  Montreal 

by  land.  He  intended  the  march  to  begin  on  the 
fourth,  and  perhaps  a  few  of  the  men  were  able  to 
set  out.  There  were  many  difficulties,  however ;  but, 
on  the  two  following  days,  most  of  the  troops  that 
could  find  wagons  for  their  baggage,  headed  by  the  First 
Yorkers,  broke  camp  and  filed  off. 

And  what  a  march  it  was, — those  eighteen  miles  to 
L,aprairie  !  Twenty-five  years  before,  Captain  Stevens 
had  described  the  greater  part  of  the  distance  as  '  a  very 
miry  swamp  full  of  timber  ; '  and  the  road,  hastily  built 
in  the  corduroy  style,  had  now  been  dissolving,  for  over 
fifteen  years,  into  a  regular  alternation  of  rotting  logs  and 


THE   MOLE,   LAPRAIRIE,   1903 


Trumbull,  Journal.    J.  Liv.  to  Montg 
Nov  3,1775:  4  Force,  III.,  1341.     1000,  etc.:  Montg.  to  jijch.,  Nov.  3,  1775  (ib., 


§  (This  paragraph  and  the  next. 


1392).  Brown  to  Montg.,  Nov.  7,  8,  1775:  ib.,  1395,  1401.  Carletori  to  Dartmouth, 
Nov.  5,  1775:  Note  i.  Legge  to  Dartmouth,  Dec.  29,  1775:  Pub.  Rec.  Off,  Colon. 
Corr.,  N.  Sco.,  Vol.  10,  p.  84.  Cannon :  I.  Allen,  Vt.,  p.  69  ;  Verreau  (Sanguinet), 
Invasion,  p.  87.  Tars :  Quebec  Gazette,  Oct.  5,  1775.  Precis  of  Oper. 


On  to  Montreal  471 

slimy  mud-holes.  The  snow  turned  to  rain.  A  tempes 
tuous  night  left  the  ground  'in  a  manner  drowned  with 
Water,'  as  one  man  described  it.  In  places,  the  mire  was 
'mid-leg'  deep.  Even  Chaplain  Trumbull,  though  consider 
ably  troubled  about  the  spiritual  condition  of  the  troops, 
could  not  refuse  to  admire  them.  '  It  was  remarkable,' 
he  noted  in  his  Journal,  'It  was  remarkable  to  See  the 
Americans  after  almost  infinite  Fatigue  and  Hardships 
marching  on  at  this  advanced  Season,  badly  clothed,  and 
badly  provided  for,  to  Montreal,  pressing  on  to  New 
Seiges  and  new  Conquests. '  'In  about  four  days  we  shall 
have  either  a  wooden  leg  or  a  golden  chain  at  Montreal,' 
wrote  the  picturesque  Bedel;  and  forward  they  plunged.6 
Not  many  years  before,  when  Rigaud  set  out  gaily  for 
his  long  march  against  Fort  William  Henry,  Montcalm 
accompanied  him  to  Laprairie  and  gave  a  grand  dinner 
there,  at  which  thirty-seven  gallants — brave  comrades  in 
arms— laughed,  jested,  quaffed  the  sunny  vintages  of  their 
native  land,  and  filled  the  hours  with  brave  and  sparkling 
wit.  Now,  one  saw  the  same  road,  making  straight  for 
the  St.  Lawrence  and  running  out  a  little  distance  on  a  mole 
of  stones,  where  the  Montreal  boats  came  and  went.  One 
saw  the  same  square  stone  fort,  the  same  handful  of  low, 
wooden  cottages  mixed  with  a  few  of  masonry,— all 
roughly  stuccoed,— the  same  small  church  and  convent, 
and,  beyond  the  village,  the  same  far-reaching  meadows, 
the  'Prairie  of  Mary  Magdalen.'  But  the  spirit  of  Mont- 
calm's  day  had  passed.  Another  Laprairie,  another 
world,  greeted  the  Americans.  Rain  had  turned  to  snow 
and  then  turned  half-way  back  again.  Deep  slush 


6  §  Montg.  toSch.,  Nov.  3,  i775:  4  Force,  III.,  1392.     Bedel  to  N.  H.  Com 

Safety,  Oct.  27,  i775 :  4  Force,  III.,  1207.      [Lamb]  to ,  Nov.  3,  i775 :  ib  ,  134, 

ben.  to  Hancock,  Nov.  n,  1775:  ib.,  1520.  Trumbull,  Journal  Ritzema 
Journal.  Waterbury,  Ord.  Book.  Barlow,  Journal.  18  m. :  Carroll  Journal 
p.  gt.  Road:  Stevens,  Journal  (N.  H.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  V  ,  p  IQQ)  Liv  Journal' 
Oct.  19.  Lacey,  Memoirs,  p.  199.  "'  J 


472   Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 


covered  the  ground,  with  deep  mire  under  that.  The  air 
from  the  river  pierced  and  chilled ;  and  as  for  banqueting, 
the  hungry  Provincials  could  expect  nothing  better  than 

a  smoky  Cana- 
dian  living- 
room,  'a  loaf  of 
bread  and  a  pan 
of  milk,'  fla 
vored  at  best 
with  a  friendly 
look  and  a  wel 
come  in  a  foreign 
tongue.7 

Cold,  and  grey, 
and  stormy,  the 
evening  of  the 
tenth  saw  the  be 
numbed  Ameri 
cans  crowding  to 
the  shore  and 

peering  eagerly  toward  the  north.  On  both  sides  of  the 
swift,  eddying  stream,  lines  of  white  cottages,  growing 
smaller,  fainter,  and  closer  toward  the  vanishing  point,  led 
the  eye  on ;  and  far  yonder,  about  nine  miles  distant,  when 
the  storm  ceased  for  a  while,  the  miniature  steeple  of 
Bonsecours  church  just  at  the  landing  of  the  I^aprairie 
boats,  the  two  spires  of  Notre  Dame  a  little  higher,  and 
the  peaked  towers  of  the  Seminary  hard  by,  could  be  seen 
fairly  enough ;  and,  now  and  then,  one  could  make  out  the 
lofty  but  slender  citadel.  Smoke,  writhing  in  the  gusts  of 
wind,  ascended  from  many  a  chimney,  betokening  warmth 

7  §  Parkman,  Montcalm,  I.,  p.  457.  Barlow,  Journal,  Nov.  7.  Trumbull, 
Journal.  Bouchette,  Descr.  Topog.,  p.  130.  Wilkinson,  Memoirs,  I  ,  p  40. 
Brown  to  S.  Adams,  Mar.  29,  1775:  Mass.  Arch.,  Vol.  103,  p.  41.  Better,  Nov.  3, 
1775 :  4  Force,  III.,  1342.  A  stone  cottage  that  must  have  been  standing  in  1775 
may  still  be  seen. 


AN    OLD    FRENCH   COTTAGE   AT    LAPRAIRIE 


A  Glimpse  of  Montreal  473 

and  comfort  below ;  and,  little  by  little,  as  the  veil  of  dark 
ness  hid  more  and  more  the  evergreen  slopes  of  Mount 
Royal  behind  the  city,  twinkling  lights  fluttered,  van 
ished,  and  fluttered  again  through  the  delicate  screen  of 
masts.  It  was  Montreal ;  Ville  Marie  ;  the  city  of  pious 
romance;  the  city  of  delicate  and  graceful  Jeanne  Mance, 
of  womanly,  warm-hearted  Marguerite  Bourgeoys,  of 
knightly  Maisonneuve,  of  gallant  Montcalm.8 

But  now  it  was  the  city  of  unyielding  Carleton.  'An 
intrepid  old  fellow,'  the  Americans  called  him,  wondering 
what  he  would  do  next.  Yet  they  had  no  forebodings. 
Among  them  stood  another  man  equally  courageous,  his 
gaze  fixed  upon  Montreal.  With  glasses,  indeed,  the  two 
champions  might  have  looked  each  other  in  the  eye. 
Both  Irishmen,  their  paternal  estates  barely  half  a  dozen 
miles  apart,  here  they  stood,  with  only  a  river  between 
them,  preparing  to  fight  a  duel  for  Canada,  perhaps  for 
America.  Had  anything  been  needed  to  give  them  zest 
for  the  struggle,  here  it  was.  As  for  the  men,  the  actual 
sight  of  Montreal  whetted  their  ardor  afresh,  and  made 
their  burdens  light.9 

At  daylight  the  next  morning— the  weather  still  '  cold 
and  Sower,'  the  ground  white,  rain  and  snow  falling  by 
turns — the  troops  ready  to  embark  were  quickly  mar 
shalled  near  the  landing,  and  Canadians  '  to  Pilott  them  ' 
attended.  Several  pieces  of  artillery,  which  Montgomery 
said  he  had  '  ventured  to  borrow  from  His  Majesty  for  the 
occasion,'  had  arrived  the  evening  before  ;  and  what 
bateaux  and  boats  could  be  found  soon  began  transport 
ing  these,  with  the  Second  and  Fourth  Yorkers,  Water- 


s  §  Trumbull,  Journal.  Uy.,  Journal.  Lossing,  Sch.,  I.,  pp.  459,  460,  note 
Carroll,  Journal,  p.  92.  Hopkins,  Atlas.  Bonsecours:  Souvenir  of  Maison 
neuve,  p.  17.  Seminary,  etc.:  Parkman,  Montcalm,  II  p  071  Id  Jesuits 
passim. 


•      x  Nov"  3'  I77S  :  4  Force,  III.,  1^42.     Carleton  was  born  at  Strabane 

(Diet.  Nat.  Biog.,  IX.,  p.  93).     See  maps  of  north  Ireland. 


474  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

bury's  men,  and  a  part  of  Wooster's,  to  St.  Paul's  Island,10 
about  six  miles  below,  quite  near  the  opposite  shore. 
Montgomery  and  Wooster  accompanied  them,  sharing  the 
exposure  of  the  wind-swept  islet  ;  and,  on  the  morning  of 
the  twelfth,  struggling  against  a  rude  gale  and  a  swift 
current,  they  landed  a  mile  or  so  above  the  town.  Soon 
there  were  about  twelve  hundred  of  the  troops  on  the  north 
side, — as  many  as  the  boats  could  transport  in  anything  like 
a  body.'1 

The  people  of  the  suburbs,  for  one  reason  or  another, 
had  continued  to  show  a  particularly  genial  countenance 
towards  the  Americans,  or  at  any  rate  a  special  backward 
ness  toward  the  government.  Not  only  had  they  refused 
to  give  up  their  ladders,  but,  at  the  instigation  of  James 
Price,  they  had  declined  to  mount  guard.  Ethan  Allen, 
to  be  sure,  had  found  them  wanting  in  his  hour  of  need  ; 
but  Montgomery,  with  twelve  hundred  veteran  soldiers 
at  his  back,  was  a  different  story.  Some  of  them  went 
forward  to  meet  the  Americans ;  and  before  long  an 
address  was  presented  in  due  form  to  their  leader.12 

'Sir,'  warbled  the  Three  Suburbs,  'Sir,  the  darkness  in 
which  we  were  buried  is  at  last  dispelled:  the  Sun  darts 
his  beams  upon  us.  Our  yoke  is  broke.  A  glorious 
liberty,  long  wished  for,  has  now  arrived,  and  which  we 
will  now  enjoy,  assuring  our  sister  colonies,  represented 
by  you,  Sir,  of  our  real  and  unfeigned  satisfaction  at  our 
happy  union.'  Owing  to  their  'disloyalty,'  these  people 
had  been  treated  for  some  time  with  open  contempt  by 
the  Tories  of  Montreal  ;  but  now  their  end  of  the  plank 

»o  Now  often  called  Nun's  Island.  It  is  just  above  the  bridge.  Thirteen 
bateaux  came  (most  of  the  way  by  land)  from  Charnbly  :  L,ossing,  Sch.,  I.,  p. 
460,  note. 

11  §  Trumbull,  Journal.     'Arnold's'  Ord.  Book,   Nov.  10.     Montg.,  letter  : 
Conn    Gazette,  Nov.   24,  1775.     Ritzema,   Journal.    Barlow,   Journal.     Trum- 
bull,  Journal.     Verreau  (Sanguinet),  p.  79.      1200:   Knox  to  Wash.,  Nov.  27, 
1775  (Knox  Papers,  I.,  p  174). 

12  §  See  p.  787.     Verreau  (Sanguinet),  Invasion,  pp.  61,  80.    I^indsay,  Can. 
Rev.,  Vol.  II.,  No.  4,  Feb.,  1826. 


Montreal  475 

appeared  to  be  rising  fast,  and  they  added,  with  a  satisfac 
tion  quite  unfeigned:  '  We  abhor  their  conduct  toward  our 
brethren  and  friends. '  From  such  a  population  hostilities 
needed  not  to  be  feared.  None  were  offered  ;  and  the 
ragged  Provincials,  who  *  out 
did  Falstaif's  soldiers,'  accord 
ing  to  a  trim  British  lieutenant, 
marched  into  the  southern 
faubourg,  and  at  last,  folding 
their  weather-stained  and 
rotten  tents,  exchanged  the 
porous  walls  of  canvas  for  the 
boards  and  stone,  the  warmth 
and  light  of  civilized  homes. 
But  the  town  itself  was  an 
other  affair  ;  and  the  sentries,  M°NTRELAApRVlTEED  FR°M 
pacing  the  ramparts  that 

night  with  shouldered  muskets,  appeared  to  give  notice 
of  a   far  different  welcome.13 

The  city  of  Montreal,  a  narrow  oblong,  stood  on  a  low 
ridge  parallel  with  the  St.  Lawrence  and  sloping  down 
quite  evenly  to  the  river's  edge.  All  round  it  went  a 
plastered  stone  wall  eighteen  feet  high,  'consisting  in 
general,'  according  to  Captain  Marr's  description,  'of 
Curtains  and  Bastions,'  reinforced — except  on  the  water 
side— with  a  ditch  about  eight  feet  deep  and  a  '  sort  of  a 
Glacis'  beyond  it,  and  surmounted  by  a  parapet  loopholed 
for  musketry.  On  Schuyler's  first  appearance  in  Canada, 
General  Prescott  had  ordered  this  wall  repaired.  At  the 
lower  end  of  the  town,  near  the  river,  four  buildings 
capable  of  making  some  defence  grouped  themselves 
round  a  sort  of  square :  they  were  the  barracks  and  store- 


journal,  Nov. 


Lindsay:   Note  12.    Verreau    (Sanguinet),   Invasion,   p.   85       Barlow, 
.  Nov.  12. 


476  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

houses.  Near  them  a  very  steep  mount,14  partly  natural 
and  partly  artificial,  rose  to  a  height  of  about  sixty  feet. 
From  the  top  of  this,  an  oblong  redoubt  called  the  citadel, 
one  hundred  and  seventy-five  feet  long  by  sixty  wide, 
constructed  after  the  Conquest,  swept  with  its  twenty-four 
pieces  not  only  the  principal  streets  of  the  town,  but  also 
to  some  extent  the  glacis,  the  river,  the  suburbs,  and  the 
rising  ground  opposite  the  ridge.  Apparently,  these 
defences  were  substantial ;  and,  in  1763,  General  Gage 
had  reported  that  he  did  not  think  anything  more  needed 
to  be  done  for  the  protection  of  Montreal  than  to  keep  the 
walls  in  repair  and  strengthen  the  citadel.15 

In    reality,  however,  the   town  had  another  very  im 
portant  means  of  defence.     In  order  to  keep  fires  alive 
through  the  long  winter  nights,  it  was  customary  to  leave 
the   great   iron   stoves   full   of  wood   on   going   to   bed. 
Accidents   could   not   fail   to  happen;    and,    to  prevent 
the    flames    from    spreading,   the    houses   were    divided 
with  partitions  of  masonry  and  doors  of  iron  almost  half 
an  inch  thick,  while  the  roofs  had  stone  arches  instead  of 
rafters   to  support  them.     Added  to  these   fortifications 
were  double  shutters,  two   outside  doors  of  iron   with  a 
wooden  door  between   them,  and,  in  many  if  not   most 
cases,    heavy    walls   of  stone.      In   short,    a   large   and 
perhaps  the   greater  part  of   the  dwellings  were  almost 
forts.     In  such  a  place,   determined  men  could  make  a 
powerful  defence;  and  once  more,  as  when  Allen  visited 
the  island,  the  loyalists  endeavored  to  unite  the  people 
for  a  stubborn  resistance,    crying,    They    have   come   to 
plunder  our  town.16 


i  *  Cut  away  by  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railroad. 


.7. 

fporce  II   ',594  '  Pell'  Diary,  June  23  :  Mag.  Am. 


de  Ramezay,  Montreal,  kindly  gave  the  author  valuable 

16  §  Anburey,  Travels,  I.,  pp.  123,  124.  Mr.  O'l^ary  :  Note  15. 


UNIVERSITY 
.C, 


OF 


Montreal  Not  Defensible 


477 


But  the  walls  of  Montreal  'could  only  turn  Musketry,' 
said  Carleton  ;  the  ditch  was  narrow  and  dry  ;  the  revet 
ment  had  long  been  crumbling  ;  and  the  parapet  measured 
only  two  feet  in  thickness.  No  covered  way  had  been 


BONSECOURS   CHURCH,    MONTREAL 


constructed.  Many  of  the  cut  stones  forming  the  outside 
of  the  gateways  and  sally-ports,  had  fallen  out  'or  been 
stolen.'  At  one  point,  the  citizens  had  torn  down  a  large 
section  of  the  parapet  in  order  to  improve  their  view  of 


478  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

the  country,  and  get  up  their  firewood  more  easily ;  andr 
on  each  side  of  Market  Gate,  a  pile  of  rubbish  had 
mounted,  some  years  before  1775,  nearly  to  the  top  of 
the  wall.  In  many  places,  the  ramparts  could  be  com 
manded  from  rising  ground  outside,  and  almost  anywhere 
they  could  be  enfiladed, — so  Lieutenant  Hadden  of  the 
Royal  Artillery  perceived  at  a  glance.  Yet  that  hardly 
mattered  ;  for,  as  the  Widow  Benoist  had  written  her 
brother  when  Schuyler  first  visited  St.  Johns,  the  walls 
were  'everywhere  falling  down.'  As  for  the  citadel,  its 
parapet  had  the  thickness  and  strength  of  two  rotten  logs; 
the  cannon  rode  on  mouldering  carriages  ;  and  the  whole 
edifice,  a  timber  affair,  had  been  stealthily  invaded  by 
decay.  During  the  past  weeks,  efforts  had  been  made  to 
remedy  this  condition  of  things;  but  certainly  one  could 
not  rebuild  a  city  with  few  hands,  little  time,  and  many 
distractions.17 

To  make  the  houses  into  fortresses,  required  a  breeze 
from  Saragossa;  and  the  wind  was  not  blowing  from  pre 
cisely  that  quarter.  When  Carleton  came  up,  on  hearing 
that  Schuyler  had  invaded  the  province,  the  city  prom 
ised  to  defend  him  in  case  of  attack  (September  20) ; 
but,  almost  that  very  hour,  Brown's  party  marched  into 
L,aprairie,  and  '  many  thought  it  time  to  capitulate.'  For 
the  moment  they  were  'laughed  out  of  this/  reported  the 
Governor ;  but  he  found  it  necessary  to  add,  a  month 
later,  that  afterward  '  the  disobedience  of  this  People 
encreased,  &  bore  some  proportion  to  the  encrease  of  the 
Rebels  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  River.'  When 
rumors  of  Allen's  coming  spread  in  the  town,  '  it  was 
very  doubtfull  if  a  Guard  for  the  Gates  cou'd  be  procured 


i'  §  Carleton  to  Shelburne,  Nov.  25, 1767:  Can.  Arch.,  Q.  5,  i,  p.  260.  Chev. 
de  Levis,  Journal,  p.  304.  Marr:  Note  15.  Hadden,  Journal,  p.  12.  Verreau, 
Invasion,  p.  309.  Indian  Trans. :  Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Am.  and  W.  I.,  Vol.  280,  p.  9. 
(Based  mainly  upon  Marr,  who  reported  a  few  years  before  1775;  but  the 
testimony  of  Benoist  and  others  indicates  that  no  substantial  improvement  had 
been  made  later.) 


480  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

from  the  Militia  the  next  day.'  The  New  Englanders 
within  the  walls  declined  to  do  garrison  duty,  under  the 
plea  that  they  might  be  guilty  of  shooting  a  father  or  an 
uncle.  One  man  declared  that  his  conscience  'would  fly 
in  his  face,'  were  he  to  help  thwart  the  endeavors  of  the 
patriots  to  emancipate  the  province;  and  some  took  the 
ground  that,  as  they  had  been  entrusted  with  a  great 
amount  of  merchandise  belonging  to  others,  they  had  no 
right  to  give  the  Americans  an  excuse  for  confiscating  it, 
by  taking  up  arms.  In  short,  Montgomery  had  great 
reason  to  believe,  about  a  fortnight  after  Allen's  fiasco,  that 
were  he  '  strong  enough  to  send  five  hundred  men  to 
Montreal,  it  would  certainly  declare  for  us.'18 

Some  of  the  Tories,  to  be  sure,  had  very  strong  convic 
tions.  '  If  the  Father,  the  Brother,  the  Uncle,  and  all  of 
the  relations  be  of  the  gang  who  have  entered  this  Pro 
vince  in  a  hostile  manner,  Robbers  and  Plunderers,  should 
they  not  be  knocked  in  the  head  ?'  demanded  'Day-laborer' 
in  the  Quebec  Gazette ;  but,  few,  even  of  those  who  took 
up  arms,  felt  quite  so  bloodthirsty.  After  Thomas 
Walker  had  been  consigned  to  the  schooner's  hold,  Pres- 
cott  ordered  Pascal  Pillet,  a  militiaman,  to  pace  up  and 
down  in  front  of  his  late  residence  as  a  guard  upon  Mrs. 
Walker  ;  but  Pillet  replied  that  he  would  rather  throw 
down  his  gun,  though  it  belonged  to  himself,  and  let  any 
body  take  it  'who  would  consent  to  be  so  employed.' 
This  hinted  strongly  of  an  independent  spirit  in  even  the 
loyal  Canadians;  and  Prescott,  not  venturing  to  insist, 
concluded  that  after  all  'it  was  hardly  worth  while  to 
watch  an  old  woman.'19 


*8  §  Promise:  Oriet,  in  Tryon's  letter  to  Dartmouth,  Nov.  n,  1775  (Pub. 
Rec.  Off.,  Am.  and  W.  I.,  Vol.  185,  p.  693).  Carleton  to  Dartmouth,  Sept.  21,  1775: 
Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Colon.  Corres.,  Quebec,  u,  p.  421.  Id.  to  Id.,  Oct.  25,  1775  :  Pub. 
Rec.  Off.,  Colon.  Corres.,  Quebec,  n,  p.  433.  Letter  from  Montreal:  Quebec 
Gazette,  Oct.  19,  1775.  Montg.  to  Sch.,  Oct.  6,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  1095. 

i9  §  Montreal  letter:  Quebec  Gazette,  Oct.  19,  1775.  Pillet:  Maseres,  Add. 
Papers,  p.  108. 


Negotiations    for    Surrender  481 

When  St.  Johns  fell,  the  Governor  saw  little  in  Montreal 
to  encourage  him.  The  Indians  took  leave  ;  '  the  remains 
of  the  Militia  from  the  Parishes,  deserted  ;  [and]  the  good 
Subjects  in  the  Town  [were]  greatly  frightened,  both  at 
the  Rebels  in  open  Arms  without,  £  at  those  Traytors 
within,  who  by  their  art  &  insinuation  were  still  more 
dangerous  to  the  publick  safety.'  'I  have  no  doubt,'  he 
added  to  this  melancholy  picture,  '  but  as  soon  as  the 
Rebels  land  on  this  side  they  will  give  up  the  place  on  the 
best  terms  they  can  procure,  unless  troops  arrive  im 
mediately';  and  when  the  merchants,  after  holding  a 
council,  waited  upon  him  to  learn  their  fate,  he  told  them 
to  act  as  they  saw  fit.20 

Accordingly,  soon  after  the  Americans  appeared  on  the 
northern  shore,  the  citizens  assembled  and  sent  four 
deputies  to  learn  Montgomery's  intentions. 

'I  come  as  a  friend,'  he  answered,  giving  them  four 
hours  to  consider  the  situation.  .But  he  did  not  stop 
there. 

'My  anxiety  for  the  fate  of  Montreal,'  he  wrote  the 
deputies,  'induces  me  to  request  that  you  will  exert 
yourselves  among  the  Inhabitants  to  prevail  on  them  to 
enter  into  such  measures  as  will  prevent  the  necessity  of 
opening  my  batteries  on  the  town.'  Painting  'the  dread 
ful  consequences  of  a  bombardment,'  he  pressed  them  '  to 
take  every  possible  step  to  soften  the  heart  of  the  Gov- 
ernour '  ;  and,  replying  to  the  talk  of  a  sack,  appealed  to 
their  own  '  observation  '  of  the  Americans  '  conduct.  The 
deputies  requested  him  not  to  approach  the  town  ;  but  he 
replied,  'My  people  are  suffering  from  the  cold,'  and  the 
troops  began  at  once  to  enter  the  suburb.  This  made  an 
uproar  within  the  town,  and  some  proposed  to  fire  upon 
the  intruders  ;  but  saner  councils  got  the  upper  hand. 

™    \°  §Carleton  to  Dartmouth,  Nov.   5,  i775:  Note  i.     Merchants:  Brown  to 
Montg.,  Nov.  7,  1775  (4  Force,  III.,  1395). 


VOL.  i. — 31. 


482   Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

Meanwhile  terms  of  surrender  took  shape,  and  twelve  of 
the  principal  citizens  presented  them.  '  Haughty  terms  ' 
they  seemed  to  the  conquerors  of  St.  Johns  ;  and  Mont 
gomery  only  answered,  '  I  will  examine  them  and  reply 

soon.  '  21 

The  terms  were,  in  fact,  regular  articles  of  capitulation, 
and  the  American  general  could  not  reasonably  grant 
them.  James  Price  and  a  friend,  so  it  was  reported, 
slipping  out  the  night  before  through  an  embrasure 
where  Bindon  stood  on  guard,  had  made  a  visit  at  St. 
Paul's  Island  ;  and  certainly,  however  true  this  may  have 
been,  Montgomery  understood  the  condition  of  the  town. 
'  The  city  of  Montreal,'  he  said,  '  having  neither  ammuni 
tion,  [adequate]  artillery,  troops,  nor  provisions,  and  hav 
ing  it  not  in  their  power  to  fulfill  one  article  of  the  treaty, 
can  claim  no  title  to  a  capitulation. '  Yet  this  did  not  mean 
that  harsh  measures  were  to  be  used.  '  The  Continental 
army,'  he  continued,  '  have  a  generous  disdain  of  every 
act  of  oppression  and  violence  ;  they  are  come  for  the 
express  purpose  of  giving  liberty  and  security.'  The 
General,  therefore,  engaged  his  honor  '  to  maintain  in  the 
peaceable  enjoyment  of  their  property,  of  every  kind,  the 
individuals  and  religious  communities  of  Montreal.' 
Religious  freedom  was  promised  ;  and  the  inhabitants  were 
to  be  compelled  neither  to  take  up  arms  against  Great 
Britain  nor  to  contribute  for  the  costs  of  the  present  war. 
'General  Montgomery's  behaviour  in  this  country  will 
gain  him  great  honour,'  commented  a  citizen  of  Quebec  ; 
and  the  Continental  Congress  wrote  him,  with  emphatic 
thanks,  that  it  would  ever  applaud  its  officers  '  for 
beautifully  blending  the  Christian  with  the  conqueror, 
and  never,  in  endeavoring  to  acquire  the  character 


21  §  Verreau  (Sanguinet),  Invasion,  p.  80      Knox  to  Wash.,  Nov    27,   17751 
Knox  Papers,  I.,  p.  174.     Montg,  to  Montreal,  Nov.  12,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  1596. 


The  City  Yields  483 

of    the    hero,    [permitting   themselves]   to    lose   that  of 
the  man.'  " 

At  seven  o'clock,  Montgomery  sent  Price  and  two  other 
delegates  into  the  town  to  argue  with  the  obstinate.  All 
sensible  people  realized  what  must  be  done.  By  some, 
the  army  outside  had  been  magnified  to  *  at  least  five 
thousand  '  ;  and  the  Americans  among  the  townsfolk,  for  a 
day  past,  had  been  throwing  their  arms  away.  '  We  have 
been  grimacing  long  enough,'  they  said.  Yet  the  debate 
lasted  till  midnight  ;  and  Price,  though  successful,  gained 
the  name  of  a  harsh  counsellor.  " 

At  nine  o'clock  on  the  thirteenth,  the  American  troops, 
taking  possession  of  the  Recollet  Gate,  were  given  the 
keys  of  all  the  public  storehouses  ;  and  then,  stepping 
proudly  through  streets  that  were  '  stiffened  with  cold/ 
passed  on  to  the  barracks  at  the  farther  end.  '  Dispatches 
for  his  Excellency  General  Washington  ;  news  ...  of 
Montreal;  quiet  submission  of  that  city  to  the  victorious 
arms  of  the  United  Colonies  of  America',  soon  announced 
the  New  England  Chronicle.  '  Of  a  certainty,  the  hand 
of  God  is  upon  thine','  exclaimed  the  devout.  Montreal, 
the  second  city  of  Canada,  had  actually  been  taken.  24 

But  not  Carleton.  Convinced,  as  indeed  he  reported 
to  the  Government,  that  '  the  greatest  part  of  the  lower 
people  would  not  act,'  he  had  understood  perfectly  that 
with  less  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  soldiers  and  a  small 
fraction  of  the  townspeople  he  could  not  possibly  defend 
the  long  and  rickety  walls  ;  and  he  had  realized  that  it 
was  no  part  of  his  duty  to  ensure  the  triumph  of  the 


^    22  §  Articies:        Forcei  m  Can     Afch  Verreau 

(Sangumet),  Invasion,  pp.  80-83.    Montg.'s  reply,  Nov.  S,  1775  •  /Force   IH 
^Forcef  in"'  ££  4'  I775  :  4  F°rCei  IV"  I7S'      HanC°  ' 


30,  1775: 


^ 


2  4  §  Terms  of  possession  :    4  Force,    III., 


484  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

enemy  by  throwing  himself  into  their  hands.  His  policy 
had  been  formulated  eight  weeks  before  :  '  I  shall  spin  out 
matters  as  long  as  I  can,  in  hopes,  that  a  good  wind  may 
bring  us  relief  ;  and  now  the  best  chance  of  prolonging 
the  struggle  lay  in  conducting  '  the  few  troops  that  were  at 
Montreal  '  to  the  defensible  fortress  of  Quebec,  and — what 
would  count  even  more — getting  there  himself.  When  the 
Americans  took  possession  of  Longueuil  and  L,aprairie, 


FROM    MONTGOMERY'S    LETTER   TO    MONTREAL,    NOV.    12,    1775 

his  official  papers  and  the  baggage  of  the  troops  were  put 
on  board  the  vessels  ;  and,  when  the  fall  of  St.  Johns 
became  known,  the  valuable  military  stores  followed 
them.  The  rest  of  the  stores  were  destroyed,  the  cannon 
in  the  citadel  were  spiked  and  rammed  full  of  balls,  and 
the  bateaux  that  could  not  be  taken  away  were  demol 
ished.  Prescott  ordered  the  barracks  and  storehouses 
burned  ;  but,  when  some  of  the  people  represented  to  the 


Carleton  Escapes  from  Montreal         485 

Governor  that  Montreal  would  take  fire,  were  that  done, 
Carleton  countermanded  the  order.25 

But  the  wind  from  Iceland  could  not  waft  his  vessels 
toward  Quebec  ;  and,  after  the  baggage  was  all  embarked, 
they  lay  at  their  moorings  as  helpless  as  that  marvel  of 
nautical  ingenuity,  a  ship  in  a  bottle.  The  Americans  ap 
peared  at  I^aprairie ;  the  village  and  shore  gradually  over 
flowed  with  them  ;  boats  were  seen  veiling  the  bright 
sheen  of  the  river;  troops  and  cannon  darkened  the  sere 
brown  of  St.  Paul's  Island ;  tents  drifted  it  with  snow ;  yet 
Carleton' s  fleet  could  not  get  away.  To  escape  by  land 
was  impossible,  for  Americans  had  crossed  from  Sorel  to 
Berthier  and  rallied  large  numbers  of  Canadians.  L,ike 
a  captive  bound  to  the  stake,  the  Governor  waited,— '  un 
doubtedly  wrung  to  the  soul,'  wrote  Captain  Hamilton, 
who  saw  him  there,  by  the  disloyalty  about  him  and  his 
own  helplessness,  yet 'firm,'  'unshaken,'  serene.26 

Finally,  however,  about  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon 
(November  n),  a  'tolerably  fair'  wind  sprang  up.  One 
cannon-shot  then  startled  the  town.  The  infantry  and  a 
little  squad  of  artillery  formed  in  the  barrack  yard  ;  a 
streak  of  red  and  a  spot  of  blue-and-white  passed  down 
through  fast-deepening  shadows  to  the  beach  ;  the  whole 
military  establishment  embarked, — many  of  the  towns 
folk  looking  on  as  at  a  funeral ;  anchors  were  hoisted ;  and 
the  GaspS,  accompanied  by  two  other  armed  vessels  and 
eight  smaller  craft,  slowly  filled  away.27 


25  §  Carleton  to  Dartmouth,  Nov.   5,  1775:  Pub.  Rec    Off,  Colon    Corres 
Quebec,  n,  p.  445.     Id.  to  Id.,  Sept.  21,  1776:  ib.,  p.  421.   Chance:  Id.  to  Id  ,  Nov' 
20>  J775  (10.,  P-   519)-     15.0:  Caldwell,    letter    (Precis   of  Oper.  says  ninety) 
Verreau(Benoist),  Invasion,  p.  316.     Indian  Trans. :  Pub.  Rec.  Off,  Am    and 
W   I.,  Vol.  280,  p.  9.     Inform,  in  Tryon's  of  Dec.  8,  1775:  Pub.  Rec.  Off,' Am 
andW.  I.,  Vol.  i86,p.  105.    Balls:  Holt  to  S.  Adams,  Jan.  29,  1776  (S    Adams 
Papers).     Verreau  (Sanguinet),  Invasion,  p.  79.     Trumbull,  Journal,  Nov.  14. 

26  §  Carleton,  Nov.  20,  1775:  Note  25.     Hamilton  to  Dartmouth,   Aug.  29: 
Sept.  2,  1776:  Can.  Arch.,Q,  12,  p.  212. 

2  *  §  Carleton,  Nov.  20,  1775 :  Note  25.  Montg.  to  Sch.,  Nov.  13,  1775 :  4  Force, 
III.,  1602  Barlow,  Journal.  Halsey  in  Conn.  Gazette,  Dec.  i,  1775.  Precis  of 
Oper.  Verreau  (Sanguinet),  Invasion,  p.  79.  Caldwell,  Better. 


Carleton's  Fleet  is  Attacked  487 

But  this  did  not  end  the  tale.  The  next  day  one  vessel 
ran  aground,  'which  occasioned  a  considerable  Delay,' 
explained  the  Governor.  At  evening  the  wind  failed, 
and  for  more  than  two  days  the  fleet  had  to  lie  at  anchor. 
It  was  now  about  a  league  above  Sorel,  where  the  river 
narrowed  and  the  channel  of  deep  water  flowed  near  the 
shore.  Waiting  grew  tedious  by  the  morning  of  the 
fifteenth  ;  but  presently  ennui  took  flight,  for  cannon-balls 
began  to  fly  among  the  vessels,  and  a  floating  battery  was 
discovered,  rowing  slowly  up  the  stream.  Hastily  enough, 
anchors  came  up,  and  the  fleet  retired.  Not  long  after 
wards,  however,  another  visitor  approached  from  below, — 
a  small  boat  under  a  white  flag.  It  carried  Ira  Allen ;  and 
presently  he  passed  up  a  letter  in  the  handwriting  of  Dr. 
Jonas  Fay,  formerly  surgeon  of  the  Ticonderoga  expedi 
tion,  signed  by  James  Easton:28 

'  Sir,  by  this  you  will  learn  that  General  Montgomery  is 
in  Possession  of  the  Fortress  Montreal — You  are  very 
Sensible  that  I  am  in  Possession  at  this  Place,  and  that 
from  the  Strength  of  the  United  Colonies  on  both  sides 
your  own  situation  is  Rendered  Very  disagreeable.  I  am 
therefore  induced  to  make  you  the  following  Proposal, 
viz — That  if  you  will  Resign  your  Fleet  to  me  Immediately 
without  destroying  the  Effects  on  Board,  You  and  Your 
men  shall  be  used  with  due  civility  together  with  women  & 
Children  on  Board — to  this  I  expect  Your  direct  and  Im 
mediate  answer.  Should  you  Neglect  You  will  Cherefully 
take  the  Consequences  which  will  follow ' 

For  once  Carleton  had  been  taken  by  surprise.  He  had 
not  expected  Montgomery  to  undertake  anything  below 
Montreal  until  that  city  had  been  secured ;  but  in  fact, 


28  §  Carleton,  Nov.  20,  1775:  Note  25.  Narrows:  Mrs.  Walker,  Journal. 
1.  Allen,  Vt.,  p.  69.  Easton  to  Carleton,  Nov.  15,  1775:  Can.  Arch.,  Q,  u,  p.  323. 
Montg.  to  Sen.,  Nov.  22,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  1684.  J.  L,iv.  to  cousin,  Jan.  25, 
1819 :  Bancroft  Coll.  Carroll,  Journal,  p.  97.  See  also  Note  29. 


488  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

when  his  fleet  approached  Sorel,  Hasten  and  Brown  had 
been  working  hard  there  for  a  week.  The  men  'were 
half-naked,  and  the  weather  was  very  severe,'  said  Mont 
gomery,  but  they  toiled  and  waited ;  and  now7  they  had 
the  pleasure  of  seeing  their  enemy  between  the  blades  of 
the  shears.  Batteries  were  ready  both  on  the  shore  and  on 
St.  Ignatius  Island  opposite  Sorel;  and  three  i2-pounders, 
a  g-pounder,  and  two  sixes,  with  two  row-galleys  or 
floating  batteries,  one  of  which  carried  a  i2-pounder, 
made  a  serious  bar,  for  Carletotfs  heaviest  metal  was 
a  pair  of  g-pounders.  Not  only  once  but  twice  the  fleet 
had  to  weigh  anchor,  after  receiving  more  or  less  hurt, 
and  retreat.  In  fact,  it  went  back  finally  some  fifteen  or 
twenty  miles,  to  the  gently  sloping  shore  of  Lavaltrie. 
Every  vessel  towed  a  bateau  and  one  or  two  small 
boats,  in  order  that  a  landing  might  be  made;  but,  when 
this  was  attempted,  a  party  of  Canadians  appeared,  and 
drove  the  British  back.  Meanwhile  Montgomery — the 
other  blade  of  the  shears — was  making  every  endeavor  to 
close  upon  the  fugitives.  Cannon  were  scrambling  into 
bateaux  at  Montreal,  and  half-thawed  troops  hurrying 
down  by  the  shore.  Carleton's  pilots  were  mutinous. 
To  make  matters  even  worse,  the  commander  of  the 
ship  which  carried  the  gunpowder  had  declared,  before 
leaving  port,  that  he  would  surrender  when  the  enemy 
touched  off  their  first  shot;  and  now,  hearing  that  hot 
balls  would  soon  be  fired  at  the  wooden  magazine,  both 
he  and  many  others  began  to  feel  exceedingly  restive. 
Plainly  Baston  had  the  right  of  it.  Carleton's  position 
was  'Very  disagreeable'  indeed.29 


29  §  Carleton,  Nov.  20,  1775:  Note  25.  Precis  of  Oper.  Naked,  etc. :  Montg. 
to  Sch.,  Dec.  5,  1775  (4  Force,  IV.,  188).  Id.  told.,  Nov.  17,  1775:  4  Force,  III., 
1633.  Verreau  (Sanguinet),  Invasion,  p.  87.  Loizeau,  Petition  [May,  1779]: 
Board  of  War  Papers,  III.,  p.  409.  Trumbull,  Journal.  Nov.  14-16.  Montg.  to 
Sch.,  Nov.  19,  1775:  Sparks  MSS.,  No.  60,  p.  26.  Walker,  statement:  4  Force, 
IV.,  1176-8.  Id  :  Almon,  Remembrancer,  1776,  Part  II.,  p.  244.  Montg. 's  orders 
to  [Bedel],  Nov.  16,  1775:  Saffell,  Records,  p.  27.  Caldwell.  I/etter.  Knox  to 
Wash.,  Nov.  27,  1775:  Knox  Papers,  I.,  p.  174.  REMARK XXX. 


The  Fleet  Surrenders  489 

But  that  did  not  satisfy  the  Americans  ;  and  Major 
Brown,  rowing  with  a  flag  to  the  embarrassed  squadron, 
proposed  that  an  officer  come  ashore  the  next  morning 
and  see  for  himself  how  positively  hopeless  the  situation 
had  now  become.  The  offer  was  accepted,  and  a  truce 
declared  meanwhile.30 

What  did  the  officer  find  ?  Nobody  has  ever  explained ; 
but  the  remarks  of  the  mesmeric  'Yankee'  were  happily 
preserved.  *  This  is  my  small  battery,'  he  blandly 
remarked ;  '  and,  even  if  you  should  chance  to  escape,  I 
have  a  grand  battery  at  the  mouth  of  the  Sorel,  which 
will  infallibly  sink  all  of  your  vessels.'  The  efficacy  of 
red-hot  balls  against  a  powder-ship  was  doubtless  alluded 
to;  and,  for  a  concluding  shot,  Brown  observed:  'Wait 


a  little,  till  you  see  the  two  32-pounders  that  are  now 
within  half  a  mile  '  ;  but  the  officer  already  felt  satisfied. 
Yet,  said  Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton,  who  passed  the 
spot  a  few  months  later  as  a  representative  of  Congress, 
*  His  grand  .battery  was  as  badly  provided  with  cannon  as 
his  little  battery,  for  not  a  single  gun  was  mounted  on 
either.'31 

By  this  time  the  wind  had  changed;  and  the  ships, 
favored  by  the  current  also,  might  perhaps  have  passed 
even  the  real  battery  and  the  row-galleys,  for  the  cannon 
of  '75  could  not  be  served  very  rapidly.  But  the  report  of 


30  §  i.  Allen,  Vt.,  p.  69.    Carroll,  Journal,  p.  97. 

1 i  §  Carroll :  Note  30.     REMARK  XXX. 


4QO  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

Brown's  formidable  preparations  did  its  work  ;  and,  after 
the  powder  and  cannon-balls  had  been  dropped  into  the 
river,  the  whole  fleet  struck  its  colors  on  Sunday  even 
ing,  November  the  nineteenth,  to  about  the  same  number 
of  soldiers  that  it  had  aboard.  The  next  morning, 
Thomas  Walker  breathed  free  air  again  ;  and  two  days 
later  the  prisoners,  after  laying  down  their  arms  outside 
Market  Gate  at  Montreal,  filed  away  for  a  new  home  in 
the  Colonies.  *  I  blush  for  His  Majesty's  troops  !  '  com 
mented  Montgomery  ;  and  well  he  might.  The  word 
*  prudence '  expresses  a  noble  idea,  but  far  from  it  when 
used  by  a  coward.  The  man  whom  Baston  described  as 
'  Savage  Prescott,'  however,  saw  something  quite  different 
from  a  blush  on  the  General's  countenance  :  *  I  have 
treated  him  with  the  sovereign  contempt  his  inhumanity 
and  barbarity  merit,'  said  Montgomery.33 

But  again  :  not  Carleton.  'The  Governor  escaped — 
more's  the  pity,'  wrote  the  American  leader.  Thursday 
night  (November  16)  he  '  with  Difficulty '  persuaded 
Bouchette,  one  of  his  captains,  to  risk  a  voyage  past  the 
American  artillery.  Dressing  like  a  man  of  the  people 
and  attended  only  by  one  or  two  of  his  Canadian  officers, 
he  embarked  in  a  whale-boat,  and  with  muffled  oars 
glided  silently  down  the  river.  At  the  most  critical 
point,  laying  oars  aside,  the  men  paddled  with  their 
hands  ;  a  secret  channel  through  the  islands  opposite  Sorel 
aided  them  ;  and  in  this  wise  the  Destiny  of  Canada, 
disguised  as  a  village  boor,  escaped  from  the  shears.33 

Montgomery  had  won,  however.     The  forest,  the  lake, 

3  2  §  Wind  :  Cramahe  to  Dartmouth,  Nov.  IQ,  1775  (Can.  Arch.,  Q,  n,  p.  324). 
Verreau,  Invasion,  p.  87  (Sanguinet);  p.  233  (Berthelot)  Precis  of  Oper.  Easton 
to  Hancock,  May  8,  1776:  4  Force,  V.,  1234.  Walker:  Note  29.  Id.,  Memorial: 
Cont.  Cong.  Papers,  No.  41,  X.,  p.  665.  Caldwell,  Letter.  Prisoners:  4  Force, 
III.,  1694.  Montg.  to  Mrs.  M.,  Nov.  24,  1775:  ~L,.  I/.  H[untj,  Biog.  Notes,  p.  15. 

33  §  Montg.  to  Mrs.  M. :  Note  32.  Carleton  to  Dartmouth,  Nov.  20,  1775-. 
Note  25.  Walker:  Note  29.  Verreau,  Invasion,  p.  87  (Sanguinet);  p.  233 
(Berthelot).  Precis  of  Oper.  Letter,  Dec.  16,  1775:  4  Force,  IV.,  290. 


Carleton  Escapes  Again  491 

St.  Johns,  Chambly,  Maclean,  Montreal,  the  Canadians, 
the  Indians, — all  had  given  way.  Nothing  lay  between 
the  victorious  general  and  Quebec,  the  last  Continental 
stronghold  over  which  floated  a  British  banner,  save  the 
magnificent  current  of  the  St.  Lawrence  ;  and  that  was  an 
onward  current.  Yet  one  question  still  remained.  What 
would  the  Governor  do  now  ?  Would  he  sail  away  to 
England?  Or  would  he  prove — like  Washington  retreat 
ing  across  New  Jersey,  like  Wellington  taking  refuge 
behind  the  lines  of  Torres  Vedras,  like  Bolivar  escaping 
from  Puerta — no  less  dangerous  fleeing  than  fighting  ? 


XVII 
AMERICAN  ARGONAUTS 

AT  the  same  time  as  General  Schuyler's  forces  were 
assembling  at  the  lakes,  the  main  American  army 
gathered  and  took  shape ;  and,  about  the  middle  of 
August,  while  the  axes  and  hammers  filled  the  woods 
around  Ticonderoga  with  ringing  music,  the  camps 
before  Boston  made  a  long  series  of  martial  pictures,  at 
once  curious  and  impressive.  '  Some, '  wrote  the  Rev. 
William  Emerson,  'are  made  of  boards  and  some  of  sail 
cloth.  Some  partly  of  one  and  partly  of  the  other. 
Again,  others  are  made  of  stone  and  turf,  brick  or  brush. 
Some  are  thrown  up  in  a  hurry  ;  others  curiously  wrought 
with  doors  and  windows,  done  with  wreaths  and  withes, 
in  the  manner  of  a  basket.  Some  are  your  proper  tents 
and  marquees,  looking  like  the  regular  camp  of  the 
enemy.'1 

There  Charles  Lee  stalked  about, — keen,  sceptical,  and 
careless,  a  clever  but  shallow  adventurer,  dazzling  the 
simple  Colonials  with  his  wit  and  his  cosmopolitan  airs. 
There  sturdy  Thomas,  Lee's  antithesis,  kept  up  watch 
and  ward  in  unpretentious  but  true  military  order.  There 
Nathanael  Greene — his  wonderful  blue  eyes  flashing  in  a 
sun-browned  face  like  a  machete  in  the  thicket,  and  his 
right  leg,  slightly  stiffened  by  years  at  the  anvil,  drag 
ging  just  perceptibly — marched  his  rounds  of  duty  with  an. 


i  Emerson  •  Frothingham,  Siege,  p.  221. 
492 


The  Camp  at  Cambridge  493 

air  which  revealed  the  born  leader  that  he  was.  Active 
Sullivan,  with  Captain  Dearborn's  men  and  the  other 
New  Hampshire  troops,  guarded  Winter  Hill  ;  and  '  Old 
Put,'  that  strange  compound  of  Sitting  Bull  and  little  Red 
Riding  Hood,  uniformed  in  shirt-sleeves  and  a  broad 
leathern  sword-belt  over  his  brawny  shoulders,  rode  to 
and  fro  at  Prospect  Hill,  thundering  curses  right,  left, 
and  in  front  on  his  delighted  yeomen,  with  rough  but 
fatherly  good-  will.2 

At  the  centre  of  the  line,  in  Colonel  Vassall's  mansion, 
Cambridge,  on  the  right  of  the  open  door  as  one  entered, 
beat  the  heart  of  the  camp.  The  morning  parade  on  the 
Common  was  over  ;  the  Grand  Guard,  breaking  up 
into  small  bodies,  had  marched  off  to  the  sound  of  drum 
and  fife  toward  the  appointed  stations  ;  and  Sullivan  had 
come  to  headquarters  to  report.  Bustling  Mifflin  and 
alert  young  Trumbull,  the  soldier-artist  —  Washington's 
two  aides-de-canip  —  greeted  and  speeded  the  callers. 
Joseph  Reed's  handsome  face  (he  was  the  private 
secretary)  bent  over  a  letter.  Gates,  the  adj  utant-general, 
buried  his  long  nose  in  voluminous  papers,  without 
forgetting,  however,  to  display  suitably  his  well-rounded 
figure.  Behind  all  these,  with  his  back  to  the  cavernous 
fireplace,  gazing  resolutely  into  the  awful  problem  of 
making  war  without  gunpowder,  towered  the  majestic 
presence  in  blue 
and  buff  that  over- 


His      Excellency, 

George     Washing 

ton,  Esquire,  Commander-in-chief  of  the  American  forces. 

And   meanwhile,  a  strange  contrast   to  all  the  activity, 

2  §  Drake,  Mansions,  pp.  149,  192,  216.    Coffin,  Thomas,  p.  16.    Greene,  N. 
Greene,  p.  29.     Cutter,  Putnam,  pp.  192,  362.     Tarbox,  Putnam,  p.  322. 


494  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

hopes  and  fears  of  the  camp,  one  Benedict  Arnold,  sallow, 
grim,  and  apathetic,  rode  slowly  in  from  Watertown,  and 
sullenly  dismounted  at  headquarters.3 

The  shuttlecock  of  fortune  he  certainly  had  been  of  late. 
His  plan  had  succeeded,  but  he  himself  had  failed.  Major 
Caldwell,  the  stubborn  royalist  at  Quebec,  had  praised  the 
'diligence  spirit  and  secresy'  of  his  operations  ;  but  the 
authorities  that  appointed  had  disowned  him.  'He  ought 
to  be  made  use  of,  not  to  provide  for  him  merely,  but  to 
take  advantage  of  those  abilities,  and  activity  of  which  I 
am  sure  he  is  possessed,'  wrote  Silas  Deane  after  his 
brother  had  visited  the  lakes  and  reported  on  the  troubles 
there,  and  Schuyler  trusted  him  to  enlighten  the  Con 
tinental  Congress  as  to  the  situation  in  that  field  ;  but 
the  Massachusetts  authorities  had  endorsed  the  action  of 
Spooner's  committee,  and— as  if  to  burn  the  victim  with 
his  own  fat— justified  making  him  subordinate  to  Hinman 
by  the  remark  that,  'The  affairs  of  that  expedition  began 
in  the  Colony  of  Connecticut,'  though  apparently  it  was 
he  himself  that  set  them  going.4 

At  the  lakes,  he  had  drawn  upon  his  own  pocket  and 
credit  for  the  public  service,  and  borrowed  a  surtout  of 
Price  to  keep  himself  warm,  while  his  extensive  business 
interests  got  on  as  they  could,  his  wife  died,  and  little 
Benedict,  his  eldest  son, — 'eager  to  hear  everything 
relating  to  his  papa,'  as  Aunt  Hannah  wrote — got  very 
little  news  that  could  rejoice  a  father's  heart.  On  his 
return  home,  an  attack  of  the  gout  prostrated  and  tortured 
him.  Summoned  by  the  Massachusetts  authorities, 

.     3  §This  mansion  became  known  later  as  the  Craigie  House.    Drake    Man 
sions,  PP-2C.8,  247,  295    303,  304,   320.     D.  Dudley,  Diary,  pp.    26,   31.      Headley, 
Wash,  and  his  Generals,  I.,  pp.  290,  292  ;  portrait  of  Gates.    Reed,  J    Reed  I 
irontis.,  and  p.  105.     Frothmgham,  Siege,  p.  241.     Thacher,  Mil.   Journ.,  p  *7. 
For  Arnold,  see  below.     The  scene  is  constructive. 

4  §  Caldwell  to ,  May  — ,  i775:  MSS.  of  Marq.  of  I.ansdowne    Vol  66 

to.  97.  S.  Deane  to  Sch.,  Aug.  20,  1775  :  Sparks  MSS.,  No.  60,  p.  5  Sch  •  Arnold 
to  Congress,  July  n,  i775  (ib.,  No.  52,  II.,  p.  31).  Journ.  Mass.  Cong.,  July  6, 
1775.  Mass.  Cong,  to  Arnold,  May  22,  i775 :  4  Force,  II.,  676. 


Arnold  at  Cambridge 


495 


almost  like  a  delinquent  debtor,  to  settle  his  accounts,  he 
mounted  as  soon  as  he  was  able  to  ride,  left  a  brig  wait 
ing  for  her  cargo,  and  posted  off  to  Watertown.  There 
fresh  humiliations  befell  him.  Seemingly,  the  Congress, 
took  out  of  his  hands  the  adjustment  of  the  men's  wages, 
and  gave  their  money  to  the  individual  captains.  Arnold 
had  purchased  some  livestock  to  keep  the  garrison  at 
Ticonderoga  from  starving,  and  it  could  hardly  be  sup 
posed  that  he  carried  it  off  to  New  Haven  in  his  saddle 
bags  ;  but  the  stern 
authorities  would 
allow  him  no  credit 
under  that  head 
without  a  voucher 
from  his  rival  and 
enemy,  Easton.  In 
a  word,  the  Conti 
nental  Congress  paid 
him  $800  and  more 
a  few  months  later 
to  rectify  this  harsh 
settlement.  When  it 

was  over,  Arnold— had  his  temper  been  ever  so  amiable 
—might  well  have  felt  like  a  bear  robbed  of  claws  and 
fur  as  well  as  of  whelps  ;  and  certainly  he  was  not  the 
man  to  accept  such  trials  with  undue  mildness.5 

But  now  the  battledore  struck  again  ;  and,  where  he 
most  desired  yet  perhaps  least  expected  it,  the  ruined 
leader  discovered  a  friend.  Washington  himself  listened 
to  his  tale  and  answered  it  with  sympathy.  Had  Arnold 


HEADQUARTERS,   CAMBRIDGE 


5  §  Arnold  to  Mass.  Com.,  June  24,  1775 :  4  Force,  II.,  1598.  Arnold  to  Price, 
July  25,  i775:  Emmet  Coll.  Mrs.  Arnold  and  Benedict,  Jr.:  I.  N.  Arnold, 
Arnold,  p.  47.  Gout,  etc.:  H.  Arnold  to  Deane,  Feb.  i,  1776:  Conn.  Hist.  Soc. 
Coll.,  II.,  p.  356.  Mass.  Com.  to  Arnold,  June  23,  1775:  Journ.  Mass.  Cong.,  p 
720.  Settlements  with  Mass.  Capts. :  REMARK  V.  livestock:  4  Force,  II., 
1600  ;  III.,  344.  Journ.  Cong.,  Jan.  22,  1776. 


496  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

been  impetuous,  headstrong,  self-willed,  rash  ?  So  had 
he.  He,  too,  had  struggled  with  set  prejudice,  with 
cabals,  with  wrong-headed  and  obstinate  men.  He,  too, 
had  been  slandered  ;  for  all  France  had  called  him  an 
assassin  and  all  England  a  swashbuckler.  He,  too,  had 
been  under-esteemed  ;  and  he,  too,  feeling  outraged  by  the 
authorities,  had  resigned  a  commission  in  disgust.  As 
yet,  Arnold  had  not  revealed  his  essential  want  of  prin 
ciple.  Washington  had  nobly  corrected  his  own  early 
excesses  of  temper  :  why  should  not  another  do  the  same. 
Men  of  initiative,  energy,  courage,  and  executive  ability, 
men  who  could  do  things,  were  rare  and  precious. 
Washington  needed  them.  He  felt  little  disposed  to 
throw  one  of  that  quality  away.  Yet  every  post  had  been 
filled  ;  what  could  he  do  for  Arnold  ?  6 

He  could  do  much  ;  indeed,  everything.  For  years, 
and  —  one  may  say—  for  ages,  a  key  to  fame  exactly  suited 
for  the  Colonel's  powerful  and  audacious  grip  had  been 
fashioning  ;  and  it  now  lay  ready  in  Washington's  hand. 

As  early  as  the  year  1682,  a  French  map—  still  preserved 
at  Paris  in  the  Navy  Department  —  suggested  a  route 
between  Canada  and  the  seaboard  by  the  Chaudiere  and 
Kennebec  rivers  ;  and,  from  that  day  on,  the  fact  of  this 
natural  highway  glimmered  and  faded,  but  on  the  whole 
gradually  brightened,  in  charts  and  reports.  Indians 
roamed  through  the  wilderness,  and  some  of  them  could 
roughly  sketch  the  region  or  tell  a  white  man  how  to  do 
so.  Deserters,  traders,  and  missionaries  visited  it,  and 
through  their  eyes  new  details  filtered  slowly  into  the 
cartographers'  draughting-rooms.  While  Governor  of 
Massachusetts  Bay  (1757-1760),  Pownall  became  inter 
ested  in  the  subject,  and—  distrusting  the  prevalent 
opinions  about  the  route  —  had  it  carefully  inspected.  As 


/!«  Kt§fJhferif  ^-5°  proof  that  Arnold  told  his  story  to  Wash.,  but  one  cannot 
doubt  that  he  did  so.    See  the  biogs.  of  Wash.  :  e.  g.,  Lodge,  I.,  Chap.  III. 


A  Route  from  South  to  North          497 

soon  as  the  conquest  of  Canada  had  been  secured  (1760), 
General  Murray  determined  to  know  the  truth  ;  and,  the 
very  next  year,  he  despatched  John  Montresor,  an  able 
officer  destined  to  become  the  King's  Chief  Engineer  for 
America,  to  make  a  thorough  reconnaissance.  With  a 
party  of  Indians,  Montresor  accomplished  his  task,  draw 
ing  a  map  and  writing  a  topographical  journal  of  his  trip. 
And  meanwhile,  or  probably  a  little  later,  Samuel  Good 
win,  a  Kennebec  surveyor,  made  further  investigations 
from  the  southern  side.7 

A  military  use  of  the  route  suggested  itself  early.  In 
1697,  Iberville  proposed  to  attack  Boston  by  way  of  the 
Chaudiere,  *  bursting  from  the  woods  with  a  thousand 
Canadians  and  six  hundred  regulars,'  as  he  pictured  it  in 
a  Memoire.  Five  years  later,  St.  Castin  took  up  the 
plan,  and  offered  to  undertake  the  expedition  with  four 
teen  hundred  good  men.  '  This  river,'  said  Governor 
Pownall,  speaking  of  the  Kennebec,  '  This  river,  in  the 
Year  1754  and  1755,  was  talked  of  as  a  Rout  by  which  an 
Army  might  pass,  the  best  and  shortest  Way,  to  attack 
Canada  and  Quebec  '  ;  and  we  know  that,  in  December  of 
the  latter  year,  Shirley  of  Massachusetts  definitely  pro 
posed,  in  a  council  of  governors  held  at  New  York,  to 
menace  Quebec  by  this  avenue.8 

When  trouble  between  Great  Britain  and  the  Colonies 
began  to  loom  up,  many  eyes  turned  hither  as  well  as 
toward  Lake  Champlain.  Carleton  thought  of  the  pass, 
and  stationed  what  he  called  '  a  very  slender  Guard  '  on 
the  upper  Chaudiere.9  People  in  thriving  Falmouth — now 
Portland,  Maine — little  dreaming  of  the  destruction 
approaching  their  fair  town  from  the  sea,  dreaded  an 


7  For  further  information  about  '  the  route  before  Arnold  '  the  reader  may 
consult  Smith,  Arnold's  March,  Chap.  I.  REMARK  XXXI. 

s  Bossing-,  Sch.,  I.,  p.  127  ;  Parkman,  Montcalm  (ed.  of  i89q),  I.,  p.  394. 

9  Carleton  to  Dartmouth,  June  26,  1775:  Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Colon.  Corres., 
Quebec,  n,  p.  309. 

VOL.  i.— 32. 


498  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 


incursion  from  the  north,  and  sent  a  party  across  the 
height  of  land  to  'ascertain  if  any  Frenchmen  were  in 
motion  or  any  of  the  savages  were  preparing  to  ravage  the 
frontier  settlements.'  10  Finally,  in  the  spring  of  1775, 
Colonel  Jonathan  Brewer  of  Massachusetts,  with  ortho 
graphic  if  not  with 
strategic  originality, 
offered  the  Congress 
of  his  Colony  to  lead 

CAVA     \*S^  ^Ju^-«^»  five  hundred  volun- 

.  \\jfff        <V*\         m.     M       teers  against  Quebec 

by  this  way,  begging 
'  leave  to  apprehend 
that  Such  a  Diver 
sion  of  the  Provincial 
Troops  into  that  part 
of  Canada  Would  be 
the  Means  of  Draw 
ing  the  Governor  of 
Canada  With  his 
troops  into  that 
Quarter,  and  Which  would  effectually  Secure  the  Northern 
and  Western  Frontiers  from  any  Inroads  of  the  Regular 
or  Canadian  Troops  this  he  Humbly  Concieve  he  Could 
Execute  With  all  the  Feility  Imaginable.'  " 

This  letter,  containing  a  serious  proposition  from  an 
officer  of  rank,  supported  by  a  very  interesting  argu 
ment,  must  almost  certainly  have  been  made  known  to 
the  Commander-in-chief,  especially  as  his  quarters  were 
almost  next  door  to  the  habitation  of  the  Massachusetts 
Congress;  and  apparently  Washington — for  Arnold  had 

10  Williamson,    Maine,   II.,  p.  418.    Journ.  Mass.   Cong.,  p.  227.     Smith, 
Journal,  Apr.  30,  1775.    Report:  4  Force,  II.,  1464. 

1 1  The  letter  is  undated  ;  but  it  is  filed  in  the  Mass.  Archives  (Vol.   146,  p. 
Q4)  as  of  May,   1775,  and   must — from  internal  evidence — have  been  written 
between  April  23  and  July  19  of  that  year. 


FROM   THE   OLD   MAP   IN   THE   NAVY 
DEPARTMENT,    PARIS 


The  Chances  are  Examined  499 

had  no  occasion  to  post  himself  on  the  esoteric  topogra 
phy  of  northern  Maine  —  desiring  to  place  this  bold 
unfortunate  in  a  position  of  usefulness,  mentioned  the 
possibility  of  the  plan  to  him,  as  a  far  more  promising 
leader  for  it  than  Brewer.13 

Arnold  seized  upon  it  greedily,  for  it  meant  that  his 
burning  desire  to  invade  Canada,  frost-bitten  by  Spooner's 
committee,  might  yet  come  to  fruition  in  a  style  even 
more  brilliant  than  his  dreams,  and  that  he,  now  disgraced 
and  blasted  in  his  cnief  ambitions,  might  at  one  stroke 
rival  or  eclipse  the  immortal  Wolfe;  while  Washington 
for  his  part,  after  pondering  upon  the  subject  '  for  several 
days,'  despatched  an  express  to  Schuyler  on  the  twentieth 
of  August  and  laid  the  project  before  him.  Carleton,  he 
wrote,  '  must  either  break  up  and  follow  this  party  to 
Quebec,  by  which  he  will  leave  you  a  free  passage, 
or  he  must  suffer  that  important  place  to  fall  into  our 
hands. ' 13  Evidently  the  General  saw  value  in  the  idea,  yet 
felt  that  Schuyler' s  reply  might  veto  it.  Unless  the  wes 
tern  army  were  to  advance,  the  Kennebec  expedition 
would  be  absurd.  '  If  you  are  resolved  to  proceed,'  wrote 
Washington. 

But  there  were  many  other  questions  to  consider,  and 
Arnold  took  them  up  with  energy.  By  good  fortune 
Reuben  Colburn,  a  smart,  enterprising,  and  thrifty  resi 
dent  of  the  Kennebec  valley,  was  just  then  at  Cambridge. 
Familiar  with  the  river  and  owning  a  shipyard,  he  could 
answer  many  inquiries  offhand,  and  no  doubt  he  did  so; 
but,  in  order  to  make  no  mistake,  Arnold  wrote  him  a 
letter  the  day  after  Washington's  express  rode  westward, 
and  requested  him  to  supply  certain  exact  and  final  data. 
'His  Excellency  General  Washington,'  so  this  letter 
began,  desired  him  to  inform  himself  how  soon  there  could 


1 2  REMARK  XXXII. 

*3  Wash.,  Writings  (Ford),  III.,  p.  86. 


The  State  of  Things  at  Quebec         501 

be  '  procured,  or  built,  at  Kennebec,  Two  hundred  light 
Battoos  [bateaux]  Capable  of  Carrying  Six  or  Se^en  Men 
each,  with  their  Provisions  &  Baggage  (say  100  wt.  to 
each  man),'  with  oars,  paddles,  and  poles  to  correspond. 
He  was  also  to  inquire  'what  quantity  of  Fresh  Beef 
could  be  had  there  and  the  price  ;  find  out  whether  nails 
enough  could  be  procured  in  that  region,  and  'get  par 
ticular  Information  from  those  People  who  had  been  at 
Quebec,  of  the  Difficulty  attending  an  Expedition  that 
way,'  the  depth  of  water  in  the  river,  the  number  and 
sort  of  places  where  the  boats  would  have  to  be  carried 
overland,  and  ( every  other  Intelligence '  which  he 
judged  necessary,  sending  all  to  the  Commander-in-chief 
in  writing  '  as  soon  as  possible.'14 

August  the  fourteenth,  Colburn  had  brought  into  the 
lines  at  Cambridge  Chief  Swashan  and  four  other  Indians 
of  the  St.  Francis  tribe,  decked  out  with  massive  earrings 
and  wampum  collars,  and  had  been  '  honorably  recom- 
penced  for  his  Trouble.'  Apparently,  as  the  smoke  of 
their  village  darkened  the  St.  Lawrence  far  above  Quebec 
and  yet  they  had  reached  Cambridge  with  a  resident  of  the 
Kennebec  valley,  they  had  made  their  journey  by  way  of 
the  Canadian  capital  and  the  pass  of  the  Chaudiere. 
Minus  the  discount  always  due  on  Indian  accounts,  their 
statements  were  evidently  of  the  greatest  value,  and  no 
doubt  Arnold  as  well  as  the  General-in-chief  examined 
them  closely.15 

But  it  was  not  enough  to  know  the  route.  What  would 
be  found  at  the  end  of  it  ?  A  fortress,  no  doubt  ;  but 
a  fortress  undefended,— so  all  accounts  agreed.  The 
captured  returns  of  the  King's  forces  in  Canada  had  told 


14  Smith,  Arnold's  March,  p.  75.    REMARK  XXXIII. 

15  §Wash.  to  Sch.,  Aug.,  15,  1775:  Writings  (Ford),  III.,  p.  84 ;  Id    to  Id 
Aug.  20,  1775:  ib.,p.  86.    Essex  Gazette,  Aug.  24,  1775.     See  also       Force     III" 
339-    St.  F.  Inds. :  Parkman,  Montcalm,  I.,  p.  48o. 


502   Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

officially  how  many  troops  guarded  the  province  in  May; 
reports  from  the  country  near  Montreal  showed  that 
substantially  all  of  them  had  been  drawn  to  that  quarter; 
and  no  arrival  of  reinforcements  had  been  reported. 
'  Some  very  late  Intelligence  hath  been  received  at  Head- 
Quarters,  this  Week,  from  Canada,'  said  the  Essex 
Gazette  at  the  beginning  of  August,  '  the  Substance  of 
which  is,  that  .  .  .  Quebec  and  Montreal  have  been  left 
quite  bare  of  Troops,  except  a  small  Guard  at  each 
Place.'  At  the  same  time,  Louis,  a  chief  of  the  Caughna- 
wagas,  who  was  examined  at  Cambridge,  declared  that 
only  a  sergeant  and  five  privates  had  remained  at  the 
capital.  Possibly  there  were  still  other  sources  of  informa 
tion.  'Arm'd  strangers  had  appear'd  in  some  of  the 
Parishes  below  Quebec,'  wrote  Ainslie  in  his  Canadian 
Journal;  'they  disappear' d  suddenly — nobody  knew  their 
business — it  was  conjectur'd  that  they  came  to  learn  the 
sentiments  of  the  Country  People,  &  the  state  of  Quebec.' 
At  all  events,  Arnold  found  considerable  information 
within  reach,  made  plans  for  the  suggested  expedition, 
and  submitted  them  in  writing.16 

He  grew  impatient,  however.  Not  a  wealthy  man,  he 
realized  that  his  business  interests  were  drifting  into  a 
very  bad  shape.  Days  and  weeks  had  already  flown  past  at 
Cambridge.  The  brig  still  waited  for  its  cargo.  The 
settlement  of  his  accounts  had  left  him  nearty  $1000 
poorer  in  ready  money  than  he  should  have  been.  A 
vessel  of  his,  which  had  set  out  on  a  long  voyage — doubt 
less  before  he  left  New  Haven  in  April — and  was  to  drop 
anchor  at  Quebec,  would  probably  be  seized  there  to 
atone  for  his  conduct  at  the  lakes.  Without  Schuyler's 
earnest  co-operation  the  expedition  could  not  be  set  on 


i6  §  See  p.  230.  Essex  Gazette,  Aug.  3,  1775.  I/>uis:  4  Force,  III.,  301. 
Ainslie,  Journal  (Introd.).  Gates  to  Arnold,  Aug.  25, 1775:  Hist.  Mag.,  Dec.,  1857, 
P-  372- 


Preliminaries  503 

foot,  and  very  likely  Arnold  had  but  little  faith  in  that 
quarter.  At  best,  consulting  the  western  army  meant  a 
delay  of  two  weeks;  and  the  Colonel,  however  eager  for 
the  enterprise,  after  boiling  all  these  facts  down— together 
with  his  previous  bad  luck,  the  influence  of  his  enemies, 
and  perhaps  Washington's  prudent  reserve — in  a  hot  and 
agitated  mind,  felt  strongly  tempted  to  drop  the  whole 
scheme  and  go  about  his  business.17 

But  the  Commander-in-chief,  though  seemingly  cool, 
was  deeply  in  earnest  about  the  project.  The  more  he 
thought  of  it,  the  more  it  appealed  to  him  ;  and  the  few 
whom  he  consulted,  approved  it  warmly.  As  a  military 
step,  it  seemed  to  have  many  fair  chances  in  its  favor; 
the  political  value  of  so  brilliant  a  stroke  to  the  uncertain 
and  fickle  fortunes  of  a  popular  movement  still  uncrys- 
tallized,  seemed  no  doubt  enough  to  justify  all  the  risks  ; 
and  it  appeared  peculiarly  unwise  to  dismiss  an  officer  like 
Arnold  from  the  service  in  such  a  mood.  Very  likely, 
too,  personal  good-will  counted  for  something  with  the 
General ;  and  Gates,  who  had  formed  a  warm  attachment 
for  their  stormy  but  ardent  visitor,  doubtless  wished 
him  to  have  this  grand  opportunity  to  re-establish  himself. 
On  the  twenty-fourth  of  August,  the  Adjutant-General 
had  a  talk  with  Arnold,  and  they  parted  with  the  under 
standing  that  the  Colonel  would  not  give  the  matter  up 
until  Schuyler  had  been  heard  from ;  but  the  next  day,  in 
order  to  prevent  all  chance  of  mistake,  Gates  wrote  by 
direction  of  'your  Friend,'  the  General,  requesting  him 
formally  to  '  resolve  to  wait  the  return  '  of  Washington's 
express,  and  to  answer  his  '  affectionate  Humble  Servant,' 
the  Adjutant-General,  '  by  the  Bearer.'  So  Arnold 
waited.18 


i?  §  H.  Arnold  to  Deane:  Note  5.      To  Quebec:    Ainslie,  Journal,  Apr.  2* 
Gates  to  Arnold :  Note  16. 

i  s  §  Wash,  to  Sen. :  Note  13.     Botta,  War  of  Indep.,  I.,  p.  401.     Gates  to 
Arnold:  Note  16. 


504  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 


In  due  time,  Schuyler's  reply  made  its  way  across  the 
hills,  and  it  proved  to  be  all  that  Arnold,  Gates,  and 
Washington  desired.  Montgomery  had  just  cut  the 
Gordian  tangle  of  his  doubts  by  ordering  the  troops 
aboard  for  St.  Johns,  and  Schuyler  was  entirely  satisfied 
for  the  moment  'of  the  necessity  of  penetrating  into 
Canada  without  delay.'  '  Your  Excellency  will  easily 
conceive  that  I  felt  happy  to  learn  your  intentions,  and 
only  wished  that  the  thought  had  struck  you  sooner/ 
was  the  pith  of  his  reply.  Quebec,  he  added,  had  not 
more  than  a  single  company  for  garrison.  This  letter, 

savoring  little  of  the  fresh 
doubts  and  the  disposition  to 
retreat  which  Schuyler  was 
soon  to  betray  at  St.  Johns 
and  Nut  Island,  made  the 
Kennebec  expedition  a  cer 
tainty.  Action  became  the 
watchword.  Business  interests 
fell  from  Arnold's  thoughts  as 
wraps  fall  from  an  athlete 
when  the  race  is  called. 
Taking  no  time  for  even  the 
hastiest  visit  home,  he  threw 
himself  with  all  his  force  into 

the  bold  undertaking,  and  once  more  he  showed  himself 
the  tireless  and  fearless  chief, — Lucifer  before  his  fall.19 
At  this  point,  Colburn  was  again  in  Cambridge,  doubt 
less  to  bring  the  information  called  for  by  Arnold's  letter; 
and,  without  loss  of  time,  he  received  final  orders  from 
Gates  on  September  the  third,  '  by  the  Generals  com 
mand.'  Go,  said  the  paper,  'with  all  Expedition  to 
Gardnerstone  upon  the  River  Kenebec  and  without  Delay 


BENEDICT    ARNOLD,    1776 


»9  §  Sch.  to  Wash.,  Aug.  27,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  442. 


An  Inviting  Enterprise  505 

proceed  to  The  Constructing  of  Two  Hundred  Batteaus, 
to  row  with  Four  Oars  each ;  two  Paddles  &  Two  Setting 
Poles  to  be  also  provided  for  each  Batteau.'  Further,  he 
was  to  'bespeak  all  the  Pork,  and  Flour'  he  could  find,  to 
'acquaint  The  Inhabitants,  that  the  Commissary',  who 
was  immediately  to  go  down  from  Cambridge,  would 
have  orders  for  the  purchase  of  *  Sixty  Barrells  of  Salted 
Beef,'  and  to  organize  a  company  of  twenty  'Artificers, 
Carpenters,  and  Guides'  for  service  on  the  expedition.20 

Next,  for  troops  and  equipment.  Many  a  good  soldier 
hastened  to  offer  himself.  The  difficulties  of  the  trip — 
especially  for  a  large  body  of  men — were  by  no  means 
understood.  Washington,  'after  all  possible  inquiry,' 
described  the  route  officially  to  Congress  in  terms  that 
resembled  the  truth  '  only  as  mist  resembles  '  a  thunder 
storm  :  '  From  the  mouth  of  Kennebeck  River  to  Que- 
beck,  on  a  straight  line,  is  210  miles.  The  river  is 
navigable  for  sloops  about  thirty-eight  miles  and  for  flat- 
bottomed  boats  about  twenty-two  miles.  Then  you  meet 
Jaconick  [i.  e.  Taconic  or  Ticonic]  Falls,  and  from 
Jaconic  Falls  to  Norridgewock  as  the  river  runs,  thirty- 
one  miles ;  from  thence  to  the  first  carrying  place,  about 
thirty  miles ;  carrying  place  four  miles,  then  a  pond  to 
cross,  and  another  carrying  place,  about  two  miles  to 
another  pond;  then  a  carrying  place  about  three  or  four 
miles  to  another  pond;  then  a  carrying  place  to  the 
western  branch  of  Kennebeck  River,  called  the  Dead 
River;  then  up  that  river,  as  it  runs,  thirty  miles,  some 
small  falls  and  short  carrying  places  around  them  inter 
vening;  then  you  come  to  the  height  of  the  land,  and 
about  six  miles  carrying  place,  into  a  branch  which  leads 


2  °  §  It  will  be  noted  that  the  express  took  about  a  week  to  reach  Albany. 
An  equal  allowance  of  time  for  the  return  trip  brings  him  back  to  Cambridge 
on  or  just  before  Sept.  3.  In  fact,  he  probably  arrived  late  on  Sept.  2.  (See 
Wash,  to  Trumbull,  Sept.  2,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  632.)  Orders:  Arnold's  March 
P- 76. 


506  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

into  Ammeguntick  Pond  [i.  e.  Lake  Megantic],  the  head 
of  the  Chaudiere  River,  which  falls  into  the  St.  Lawrence 
River  about  four  miles  above  Quebeck.'21 

As  the  Commander-in-chief  wrote  Schuyler,  the  land 
carriage  seemed  'too  inconsiderable  to  make  an  objection,' 
and  water  has  always  been  regarded  as  a  yielding 
element.  It  looked,  indeed,  as  if  nature  had  cut  a  groove 
through  the  wilds  expressly  for  the  expedition ;  and  not 
only  was  there  little  beyond  the  usual  danger  of  war  and 
the  usual  hardships  of.  a  wilderness  journey  to  give  the 
enterprise  an  ugly  look,  but  much  could  be  seen  to 
brighten  it.  Quebec  stood  far  to  the  north,  and  the  name 
sounded  very  cool  in  the  sultry  dog-days  of  August. 
Some,  deserters  from  the  British  camp,  longed  to  place 
a  few  more  leagues  between  themselves  and  the  firing 
squad.  To  others,  illness  appeared  more  threatening  than 
bullets;  and  Langdon  was  informed  by  a  correspondent 
later  that  Captain  Dearborn,  a  physician,  had  like  many 
others  '  gone  to  Canada  for  no  other  reason  than  to  avoid 
the  Sickness  of  our  Camp,  and  dread  of  the  general 
Hospital.'  Ennui  had  terrors  less  real,  perhaps,  but  no  less 
keenly  felt.  *  Do  write  som  newes  we  are  starving  for 
want  of  it,'  appealed  Mrs.  Judge  Reeve  to  her  brother, 
Aaron  Burr,  then  at  Cambridge;  and  he  could  only  repeat 
the  same  old  story :  waiting  for  enemies  that  did  not 
come.  The  expedition  was  called  a  secret  one ;  but  the 
transparent  veil  of  mystery  only  made  it  the  more  interest 
ing  ;  and  the  very  boldness  of  the  plan— a  lunge  straight  at 
the  enemy's  heart — had  a  challenge  and  a  charm  for 
brave  men.  Some  hard  fighting  there  might  be  ;  but  after 
Ticonderoga  anything  seemed  possible,  if  only  daring 
enough.  Slender  young  Burr  himself,  since  coming  to 
Cambridge  with  his  friend  Ogden,  bringing  a  strong  letter 


2 1  §  4  Force,  III.,  763.    Carrying-place  or  portage:  a  place  where  boats  are 
transported  overland  from  one  piece  of  water  to  another. 


An  Inviting  Enterprise  507 

of  introduction  to  the  Commander-in-chief  from  Hancock, 
and  firmly  persuaded — though  only  a  lad  of  nineteen 
years— that  his  orb  of  glory  shone  above  the  battlefield, 
had  worried  himself  from  ennui  into  a  fever ;  but,  on  learn 
ing  of  this  expedition,  he  instantly  sat  up  in  his  bed,  then 
decided  he  was  well  enough  to  dress,  and  then  announced 
that  he  was  going.22 

The  name  of  the  leader  had  its  attraction,  too.  The 
favor  of  Washington  doubtless  cancelled  the  tales  of  his 
enemies,  and  everything  to  his  credit  passed  current. 
Dorothy  Dudley  and  the  rest  of  the  ladies  in  Cambridge 
loved  to  gossip  about  a  man  whom  they  described  as 
*  daringly  and  desperately  brave,  sanguinely  hopeful,  of 
restless  activity,  intelligent  and  enterprising,'  and — no 
doubt  some  demurely  added  with  truth  enough — gay  and 
gallant;  and  the  soldier  lads  told  one  another  admiringly 
how  he  marched  through  the  wicket-gate  at  old  Ticonde- 
roga  shoulder  to  shoulder  withBthan  Allen ;  how  he  threat 
ened  to  break  into  the  magazine  at  New  Haven,  when  his 
company  wanted  to  set  out  for  Cambridge ;  and  even  how 
he  used  to  astonish  the  other  boys,  years  before,  by 
seizing  the  rim  of  the  great  mill-wheel  and  going  round 
with  it  through  water  and  through  sky.  To  these  in 
fluences,  honest  patriotism  was  added ;  and,  as  the  effect 
of  one  or  all,  the  October  muster-rolls  came  in  well 
sprinkled  with  the  entry :  '  Gone  to  Quebec  ' ;  while  in 
other  cases  it  was  the  company  that  had  gone,  and  the 
sprinkling  named  those  who,  for  one  reason  or  another, 
had  stayed  behind.  In  this  way  ten  companies  of  infantry 
enlisted  for  the  expedition.23 

22  §  Wash,  to  Sch. :  Note  13.   Deserters:  Senter,  Journal,  Oct.  i,  1775.   Jack 
son  to  Langdon,  Sept.  16,  1775  :  letters  by  J.  Bartlett,  etc.,  p.  28.     Mrs.  Reeve  to 
Burr,  Sept.  2,  1775:  Am.  Antiq.  Soc.  Secrecy:  Huntiugton  to  Trumbull,  Sept,  6, 
1775  (Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  Ser.  V.,  Vol.  ixi,  p.  501);  Humphrey,  Journal  (Sept. 
9).     Burr:  Hancock  to  Wash.,  July  19,  1775:  4  Force,  II.,  1689.     Parton.  Burr,  I., 
p.  68. 

23  §  Dudley,  Diary,  pp.  36,  37.    I.  N.  Arnold,  Arnold,  p.  22.    Mass.  Muster 


The  Riflemen  509 

Yet  these  men,  however  choice,  were  not  the  flower  of 
the  little  army.  On  the  fourteenth  of  June,  the  Con_ 
tinental  Congress  had  ordered  the  raising  of  six  com 
panies  of  expert  riflemen  in  Pennsylvania,  two  in 
Maryland,  and  two  in  Virginia,  all  'to  march  as  soon  as 
completed  to  the  army  near  Boston,  and  serve  as  light 
infantry.'  This  call  aroused  the  liveliest  enthusiasm 
among  the  brave  and  hardy  marksmen  of  the  frontier. 
'  Most  of  the  expresses  had  to  ride  three  or  four  hundred 
miles  to  the  persons  who  were  ordered  to  raise  the 
troops,'  declared  a  Philadelphia  letter-writer  in  August, 
yet  '  the  men  to  the  amount  of  1430,  instead  of  eight 
hundred,  were  raised,  compleatly  armed,  (most  of  them 
with  their  own  rifles,)  and  accoutred  for  the  field  with 
such  expedition,  as  to  join  the  army  at  Cambridge,  one 
company  on  the  25th  day  of  July  and  eight  more  on  the 
5th  and  yth  instant,  all  of  which  had  marched  from  four  to 
seven  hundred  miles.  All  this  was  performed  in  less 
than  two  months,  without  a  farthing  of  money  being 
advanced  by  the  continental  treasury.'  Tall  Hendricks, 
gentle  but  fearless,  described  by  a  soldier  as-'  mild  and 
beautiful  *  of  countenance,  led  one  of  the  Pennsylvania 
corps;  handsome  and  martial  Smith  commanded  another; 
and  a  third  clump  of  nearly  one  hundred  long  rifles 
marched — or  rather,  flew — from  the  Old  Dominion  at  the 
back  of  a  mighty  man  of  valor  indeed,  the  famous  Daniel 
Morgan.24 

Splendid  specimens  of  athletic  manhood  were  these  full- 
blooded,  high-spirited  young  bucks.  Many  stood  more 
than  six  feet  in  height;  all  had  been  schooled  by  forest 
and  stream,  by  deer,  wolf,  and  eagle.  What  they  knew, 


Rolls.     Henshaw,  Ord.  Book,  Sept.  5,  1775:  Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  Proc.,  Oct.,  1876. 
REMARK  XXXIV. 

24  §  Journ.  Cong.    Boston  Gazette,  Sept.  4,  1775  (see  the  same  for  Aug.  14, 
.1775).    Henry,  Journal,  p.  12.    Graham,  Morgan,  p.  54. 


5io  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

they  knew  exceedingly  well, — knew  as  a  matter  of  life  or 
death.  Brain,  eye,  hand,  and  foot  were  true  allies,  already 
proved  sure  at  many  a  hazardous  instant.25 

One  recognized  the  riflemen  as  far  away  as  they  could 
be  seen.  '  They  take  a  piece  of  Ticklenburgh,  or  tow 
cloth  that  is  stout,'  wrote  Silas  Deane  to  his  wife,  'and 
put  it  in  a  tan-vat  until  it  has  the  shade  of  a  dry  or  fading 
leaf;  then  they  make  a  kind  of  frock  of  it,  reaching  down 
below  the  knee,  open  before,  with  a  large  cape.  They 
wrap  it  round  them  tight,  on  a  march,  and  tie  it  with 
their  belt,  in  which  hangs  their  tomahawk.'  Beside  the 
tomahawk  hung  a  long,  glittering  blade  called  a  scalping- 
knife.  Those  who  could  obtain  them,  wore  leggins  and 
moccasins,  decked  out  most  likely  with  beads  and 
brightly  dyed  porcupine  quills  in  the  Indian  style,  for — 
said  a  rifleman — it  was  their  pet  fashion  to  'ape'  the 
savages.  Their  heads  found  shelter  under  small,  round 
hats,  adorned  with  a  high  tuft  of  deer's  fur  in  the  shape  of 
a  buck's  tail;  and  the  hat  or  the  bosom  of  the  frock  bore 
this  redoubtable  legend:  'Liberty  or  Death.'58 

But  the  essential  distinction  of  these  men  lay  in  their 
heavy  rifles  and  in  the  way  they  handled  them.  L,ike  the 
long-bow  archers  of  Henry  VIII.,  they  began  to  shoot  so 
young  that  such  work  became  like  walking  or  breathing. 
The  Virginians,  it  is  said,  had  been  punished  in  boyhood 
for  hitting  game  anywhere  except  in  the  head,  and  those 
from  Pennsylvania  seem  to  have  been  no  less  expert.  'A 
correspondent  informs  us,'  reported  a  Philadelphia  paper, 
'that  one  of  the  gentlemen  appointed  to  command  a  com 
pany  of  Rifle  Men,  to  be  raised  in  one.  of  our  frontier 
counties,  had  so  many  applications  from  the  people  in  his 


25  §  Thacher,  Mil.  Journal,  p.  33.    Henry,  Journal,  p.  n.  etc. 

26  §  Deane,  June  3,  1775:  Conn.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  II.,  p.  252.     Thacher,  Mil. 


eaurnal,  p.  33.     Henry,  Journal,  p.  u.     Kssex.  Inst.  Hist.  Coll.,  XXXIII.,  p.  249., 
raham,  Morgan,  p.  63. 


The  Riflemen  5 1 1 

neighbourhood  to  be  enrolled  for  the  service,  that  a  greater 
number  presented  than  his  instructions  permitted  him  to 
engage,  and  being  unwilling  to  give  offence  to  any, 
thought  of  the  following  expedient,  viz.  He,  with  a 
piece  of  chalk,  drew  on  a  board  a  figure  of  a  nose  of 
common  size,  which  he  placed  at  the  distance  of  150 
yards,  declaring  that  those  who  could  come  nearest  the 
mark  should  be  enlisted;  when  60  odd  hit  the  object.' 
'  General  Gage,'  added  the  editor,  *  take  care  of  your  nose! ' 
Doubtless,  like  all  popular  marvels,  their  dexterity  grew 
in  the  telling;  but  the  British  called  'these  shirt-tail 
men,  with  their  cursed  twisted  guns,'  'the  most  fatal 
widow-and-orphan  makers  in  the  world,'  while  an  enthu 
siastic  officer  in  their  own  body  described  them  concisely 
as  'beautiful  boys,  who  knew  how  to  handle  and  aim  the 
rifle.'27 

lyike  all  others,  they  had  the  defects  of  their  qualities, 
and  first  of  all — as  one  of  them  said — they  were  '  unused 
to  the  discipline  of  a  camp,'  or  indeed  to  any  discipline  at 
all.  Though  honest,  good-hearted,  and  well-meaning, 
they  were  untamed  and  almost  untamable.  Even  young 
Henry,  already  devout  and  afterward  a  judge,  had  volun 
teered  without  his  father's  knowledge.  Morgan,  prince  of 
them  all,  came  probably  of  religious  and  educated  stock, 
but  in  deep  disgust  he  had  left  his  parents  as  a  boy,  and 
battled  his  own  wild  way  on  the  frontier  like  a  modern 
cowboy  in  Arizona.  Once,  it  was  said,  while  he  occupied 
a  very  humble  position  in  the  Virginia  service,  his 
captain  had  a  difficulty  with  a  famous  pugilist,  and  all 
hands  agreed  that  at  the  first  halt  fists  would  have  to 
decide  it.  But  at  dinner  time  young  Morgan  protested. 

'You  are  our  Captain,'  he  explained,  '  and  if  the  fellow 
whips  you,  we  shall  all  be  disgraced.  Let  me  fight  him ; 


2  7  §  Drake,  Mansions,  p.  88.    Essex  Gazette,  July  27,  1775.    Henry,  Journal, 
p.  144. 


MAP  OF 

ARNOLD'S  ROUTE 

SCALE  OF  MILES 


512 


The  Riflemen 


and  if  he  whips  me,  he  will  not  hurt  the  credit  of  the 
Company.' 

Morgan  got  his  way,  and  then—'  it  was  a  famous 
victory.  ' 

Now,  as  a  commander,  he  believed  in  discipline  ;  but 
the  training  of  his  rough  school  could  not  be  shaken 
off  at  once.  '  Truly  affectionate  '  at  heart,  as  a  soldier 
described  him,  he  always  addressed  his  followers  as  his 
'  boys  '  ;  but  one  day,  noted  Henry,  when  he  justly 
charged  a  fellow  with  breaking  orders  yet  could  not  force 
him  to  tell  the  truth  about  it,  he  suddenly  sprang  to  a 
'  pile  of  billets,  took  one,  and  swore  he  would  knock  the 
accused  down  unless  he  confessed.'28 

Like  master,  like  man.     As  a  rule,  the  riflemen's  dress 
was    highly    approved.        Deane    wished    it    might    be 
*  adopted  '  as  the  Connecticut  uniform,  and  the  New  Jersey 
Committee  of  Safety  advised  the  minute-men  to  borrow  it. 
But  Glover's  Marblehead  fishermen,  biassed  no  doubt  in 
favor    of    tarpaulin     and    oil-skin,     made    merry    over 
Morgan's  foresters  at  the  Cambridge  camp.     Border  prin- 
ciples  told  at  once  how  to  meet  the  crisis,  and  shortly  a 
riot  blazed  up  like  fire  in  tinder.     Some  one  ran  to  the 
Commander-in-chief;    and    Washington,  springing   into 
the    ever-ready   saddle,    galloped   to    the   scene.   &Black 
Pompey  began  to  let  down  the  bars  to  the  camp,  but,  as 
a  thousand  men  were  hard  at  it  by  this  time,  the  General 
could  not  wait;  and,  vaulting  over  Pompey  and  bars  alike, 
he  dashed  up  to  the  crowd,  leaped  to  the  ground,  rushed 
into  the  mob,  seized  a  rifleman  by  the  throat  with  each 
hand,  and  pressed  on,  talking  to  them  as  Charles  Lee  at 
Monmouth  found  he  could  talk.     Amazed  and  overawed, 
the  men  fell  back  to  right  and  left,  and  the   dangerous 


28  §  Henry,  Journal,  pp.  7,  n,  J2,   =;o,  51.     A.  Morgan,  Korean  Genealmrrr 
p  .257.    Graham,   Morgan,  p.  24.     McConkey,  Hero,  ?.  ,7.     Drlke  MansionI' 


p 

VOL.  I.  -33 


5  H  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

outbreak    ended.      But    only    Washington    could    have 
wrought  the  miracle.29 

This  temper  of  natural  independence  and  exuberance 
appeared  everywhere.  Morgan's  ideas  of  strict  discipline 
met  with  little  favor  ;  and,  when  he  raised  a  billet  over 
the  soldier,  Captain  Smith  proposed  a  general  smash  of 
the  expedition  by  raising  one  over  him, — a  proposition 
that  Morgan  wisely  declined.  Hendricks's  company 
paused  twice  on  its  rapid  march  from  the  Juniata  to 
clothe  a  '  Ministerial  tool'  with  tar  and  feathers.  Captain 
Hubbard,  parting  two  angry  men  of  his,  was  clinched 
by  one  of  them  ;  yet  instead  of  asking  odds  for  his  rank, 
he  laid  the  fellow  neatly  behind  a  log,  and,  when  he 
begged  pardon,  went  on  his  way  laughing,  without  a 
thought  of  further  punishment.  One  of  the  Pennsylvania 
companies  Washington  '  refused  peremptorily  to  take/ 
said  Colonel  Hand,  on  account  of  their  '  misconduct.' 
And  this  quality  of  the  men,  which  bore  some  bitter  fruit 
on  the  march,  had  perhaps  not  a  little  to  do  with  their 
going.  *  Had  C.  Smith's  compy  been  Better  behaved,' 
wrote  Hand,  *  they  might  probably  have  Saved  themselves 
a  disagreeable  jaunt.'  A  lieutenant  of  Hendricks's  com 
pany  said  it  was  *  sent '  by  Washington.  Morgan,  accord 
ing  to  his  biographer  Graham,  made  an  'earnest  request' 
for  permission  to  join  the  expedition.  Such  was  no  doubt 
the  case  ;  but  perhaps  the  fight  with  Glover's  men  stamped 
a  vivid  endorsement  on  the  back  of  it.  Just  such  were 
the  spirits  demanded  for  the  undertaking;  and,  even  if 
some  were  'sent,'  all  had  marched  for  the  camp  as 
volunteers.90 

'Not  a  moment's  time  is  to  be  lost  in  the  preparation 


29  §  Deane  to  Mrs.  D.,  July  20,  1775:  Conn.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  II.,  p.  292.  N.  J.: 
4  Force,  III.,  457.    Drake,  Mansions,  p.  302. 

30  §  Henry,  Journal,  pp.  50,  58.     '  Provincials,' Journal,  July  26;    Aug.  3. 
Hubbard:    Fobes,  Narrative.     Hand  to  Yeates,  Sept.   23,  1775:    Hand  Papers. 
McClellan:  Linn  and  Egle,  Penn.,  I.,  pp.  8,  23,  24.    Graham,  Morgan,  p.  55. 


The  Signal  is  Given 

for  this  enterprise,  if  the  advices  received  from  you  favor 

it,'  Washington  had  written  Schuyler  ;  and,  on  the  fifth 

of  September,  the  fateful  signal  was  given.     '  A  detach 

ment,  consisting  of  two  lieutenant-colonels,  two  majors, 

ten   captains,  thirty   subalterns,    thirty   sergeants,  thirty 

corporals,   four   drummers,  two  fifers,  and   six   hundred 

seventy-six   privates'—  a   total  of  786—  were   ordered    to 

parade  the  next  morning   '  at  eleven  o'clock,   upon  the 

common  in  Cambridge,  to  go  upon  command  with  Colonel 

Arnold,  of  Connecticut';  and  at  the  same  time  a  Virginia 

company,  with  two  Pennsylvania  companies,  of  riflemen 

were   to  join    these  troops.     '  Tents   &  necessaries   con 

venient  &  proper  for  the  whole'  were  to  be  '  supplied  by 

the  Quartermaster-  General  immediately  upon  the  detach 

ment  being  collected,'  and  both  Arnold  and  Gates  would 

be  present.31 

Unhappily  things  could  not  be  done  on  the  stroke  of  the 
clock   here  any  more  than    at  the  lakes.     'A  variety  of 
obstacles  has  retarded  us,'  wrote  the  Commander-in-chief 
on  the  eighth;  but  the  same  day  he  ordered  '  the  detach 
ments  going  under  the  command  of  Col.  Arnold   to  be 
forthwith  taken  off  the  roll  of  duty,'  and  to  march  in  the 
evening  to  Cambridge  Common,  '  where  tents  and  every 
thing  necessary  '  had  been  provided,  while  the  rifle  com 
panies  were  to  move  for  the  same  place  early  the  next 
morning.     'At  farthest,'  Washington  now  believed  the 
men  would  set  out  in  two  days  more.    But  other  obstacles 
arose.     For  one  thing,  pay  had  fallen  into  arrears  in  many 
cases.    Though  a  private,  even  in  the  rifle  corps,  had  only 
six  and  two-thirds  dollars  a  month,  a  little  money  counted 
for  a  great   deal   with    poor  men  and  their   families,  and 
nobody  knew  where  the  paymaster  would  find  him  next. 
For  this  reason  some  of  the  troops,  insisted  upon  a  settle- 


^^^  Sept.  5:  Note  2,    The 


5i 6    Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 


ment  and  perhaps  an  advance.  '  This  morning  paraded  on 
the  old  spot,'  noted  Squier  in  his  diary  on  the  eleventh, 
'  in  order  to  march  for  Quebec,  but  refused  to  march  till  we 
had  a  month's  pay,  so  we  stayed  still  in  Cambridge,today.'32 
The  riflemen,  however,  did  not  linger;  and,  after  pass 
ing  one  night  at  Neale's 
tavern  and  another — as  if  to 
make  amends — at  Mr.  Bunk- 
am's  church,  they  spread  their 
canvas  Wednesday  evening, 
September  the  thirteenth,  by 
the  '  Trayneing  Green '  in 
Newbury.  About  a  mile  away 
rose  the  steeples  of  Newbury- 
port,  the  rendezvous  for  the 
detachment  j  and  they  could 
just  catch  the  glint  of  the 
Merrimacriver,a  shining  high 
way  from  its  harbor  to  the  sea. 
While  they  were  arriving,  the  rest  were  setting  out. 
That  Wednesday,  the  countersign  at  Cambridge  was 
'  Quebec  ' ;  at  the  appointed  hour  the  drums  of  the  Canada 
companies  rolled;  and,  under  a  sultry  red  sun  that  made 
woodlands  and  the  north  more  attractive  than  ever,  the 
main  body  of  the  detachment  moved  off  in  two  divisions. 
The  fine  Cambridge  elms  arched  grandly  above  them. 
The  low  bridge  over  the  Mystic  shook  under  their  tread  as 
it  had  never  shaken  before  ;  and,  pressing  on  thence  by 
different  routes,  they  all  reached  Newburyport  on  Friday 
or  Saturday,  finding  quarters  there  in  the  Town  House,  a 
church,  two  rope-walks,  or  their  tents.  Arnold  himself, 
after  staying  at  Cambridge  for  the  last  words  until  Friday 


CHRISTOPHER   GREENE 


32  §  Wash,  to  Trumbull  and  to  Sch.,  Sept.  8,  1775:  Writings  (Ford),  III.,  p. 
n6.  Henshaw  Ord.  Book :  Note  23  Fay :  Linn  and  Egle,  Penn.,  I.,  p.  3.  Pay  of 
N.  H.  men:  4  Force,  IV.,  i.  REMARK  XXXV. 


At  the  Rendezvous  517 

morning,  pushed  on  so  vigorously  that  he  dined  at  Salem 
and  lodged  that  same  night  by  the  Merrimac.  The  little 
army  was  now  complete.  In  the  convenient  port  hard  by, 
it  was  to  take  ship  for  the  Kennebec ;  and  transports 
already  lay  waiting  for  the  voyage.33 

But  the  sea— that  was  the  enemy's  country.  British 
frigates  were  always  turning  up  where  least  expected 
Besides,  who  knew  that  the  'secret'  of  the  expedition  had 
not  leaked  into  Boston?  Perhaps  a  man-of-war  was  lying 
in  wait  behind  Cape  Ann;  and  it  would  have  made  a  fine 
tale  for  London,  had  some  lucky  captain  bagged  the 
whole  Kennebec  detachment  between  harbors.  A  *  very 
considerable'  danger,  that,  said  Washington,  in  the 
opinion  of  '  many  judicious  persons';  wherefore  by  his 
order  three  scouting-vessels  were  anxiously  despatched 
in  as  many  directions  to  see  if  the  coast  was  clear,  and, 
with  an  eagerness  half  apprehension,  Arnold  and  his 
officers  awaited  the  reports. 

As  if  to  lessen  their  impatience  at  this  necessary 
delay,  head  winds  and  foul  weather  made  a  departure 
impossible,  and  the  hours  meanwhile  had  to  be  fully 
employed.  Many  last  preparations  needed  to  be  made, 
and  many  tenders  of  hospitality  demanded  the  return  of 
cordial  acceptance.  Nathaniel  Tracy,  one  of  the  great 
privateering  adventurers  of  the  Revolution,  Tristram 
Dalton,  a  wealthy  merchant,  and  other  local  grandees 
entertained  Arnold  and  his  officers  in  state  ;  housewives 
brought  forth  all  their  choicest  delicacies  for  the  rank  and 
file;  and  many  a  rosy  daughter  left  the  wicket  of  her  fair 
eyes  open  wide  as  these  tall,  handsome  soldier-lads,  the 
boldest  and  stoutest  of  a  whole  army,  marched  past.3'4 

"§  Wash,  to  Arnold   (Instr.):    Writings   (Ford),   III.,  p.    I2I.      See  the 


518   Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 


Sunday,  the  glorification  assumed  a  more  sober  yet  a 
loftier  air.  Some  of  the  troops  attended  under  arms  at 
Dr.  Parsons's  church,  and  heard  him  pronounce  a  martial 
discourse  on  a  martial  text,  his  grave,  slow  voice  lighted 
up  by  flashing  blue  eyes  and  his  clear  thought  warmed  as 
if  from  the  fervor  of  his  friend,  the  angel- tongued  White- 
field,  sleeping  the  long  slumber  beneath  his  pulpit;  while 
others  heard  the  chaplain,  Rev.  Mr.  Spring,  on  the  text : 
'  If  thy  presence  go  not  with  me,  carry  us  not  up  hence.' 
In  the  preacher's  mind  there  lay  no  doubt  about  the 
divine  attendance,  and  even  the  least  religious  felt  that 
somehow  they  had  enlisted  for  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  and 
the  Omnipotent  would  march,  less  visibly  than  of  old  but 

not  less  really,  in  the  midst 
of  them.  A  review  took  place, 
and  the  manual  of  arms  was 
practised  as  never  before. 
Everybody  in  the  region  wished 
to  see  the  brave  fellows  bound 
on  a  quest  so  hazardous  for  a 
prize  so  splendid.  Hundreds 
looked  on  delighted;  yet,  as 
Abner  Stocking  noted,  amidst 
praise  and  good  wishes  throbbed 
another  tone,  the  sad  thought 
that  'many  would  not  return  to 
parents  and  families.'  This 

reflection  calmed  but  infinitely  deepened  the  enthusiasm. 

It  transformed  a  spectacle  into  a  drama,  a  march  into  a 

battle;  and  what  began  in  brilliancy,  ended  in  grandeur.35 

Monday  afternoon  the  troops  embarked ;  although,  with 


DR.   PARSONS'S  CHURCH 


Journals,  particularly  Senter's  and  Stocking's,  and  Coffin's  and  Currier's  New- 
bury,  passim. 

35  §  Greenleaf,  Parsons,  p.  9.    Parsons,  Sixty  Sermons,  pp.  49-51.     Coffin, 
Newbury,  p.  24.     Essex  inst.  Hist.  Coll.,  XXXIII.,  p.  256. 


A  Promising  Start  519 

this  'most  beautiful  town  and  its  brave,  generous  inhabit 
ants  '  close  at  hand,  the  officers.,  as  Lieutenant  Humphrey 
put  it,  were  much  'plagued'  to  keep  the  men  on  board; 
and  the  next  forenoon,  September  the  nineteenth,  as  the 
winds  had  come  and  the  enemy  had  not,  the  fleet  of 
eleven  sloops  and  schooners  weighed  anchor  and  set  sail. 
The  shore  was  thronged.  Cheers,  good-bye's,  and  God- 
bless-ye's  filled  the  air;  broken  reflections — flushing,  pal 
ing,  and  flushing  again,  as  the  vessels  turned  more  or  less 
to  the  sun — filled  the  water;  and,  with  'colors  flying, 
drums  and  fifes  a  playing,'  as  Tolman  wrote  in  his 
Journal,  '  and  the  hills  all  around  covered  with  pretty  girls 
weeping  for  their  departing  swains,'  the  little  fleet  moved 
off.  About  three  miles  of  rather  ticklish  navigation 
brought  it  down  to  the  sea,  where  the  bar  made  some 
trouble ;  but  in  a  few  hours  the  vessels,  filing  off  one  after 
another  as  their  sails  caught  the  wind,  stood  away  for  the 
Kennebec, — Arnold's  topsail  schooner  Broad  Bay  leading 
the  van,  and  the  rest  of  the  squadron  turning  crisp 
white  furrows  after  him  across  the  dark-blue  glebe  of 
old  ocean.  The  hospitality  and  enthusiasm  of  Newbury- 
port  had  fired  the  soldiers'  hearts  anew.  The  pathos  and 
the  picturesqueness  of  this  farewell  thrilled  them  again. 
The  latest  news  of  Quebec  gave  fresh  encouragement. 
'There  is  only  a  Company  of  twenty-five  men  there,'  a 
gentleman  wrote  from  Cambridge  on  the  fourteenth.  The 
omens  were  good,  and  spirits  gloriously  high.38 

3  6  §  4  Force,  III.,  713.     One  vessel  remained  aground  for  some  time,  but 
got  safely  off. 


XVIII 
INTO  THE  WILDERNESS 

RAPIDITY  and  in  safety  voyaged  the  new  Argonauts, 
yet  hardly  to  their  taste.  The  following  wind 
became  a  pursuing  one  during  the  night.  'It  grew  thick 
and  foggy,'  recorded  Melvin,  'with  rain,  thunder  and 
lightning  and  blowed  fresh.'  Nearly  all  the  heroes 
were  sick, — 'and  such  a  sickness,'  groaned  Fobes.  One  at 
least  of  the  transports  got  among  the  rocks  of  the 
Maine  coast,  but  happily  escaped;  and,  after  lying  at 
anchor  near  Phippsburg  from  about  the  middle  of  the 
night  until  day  appeared,  the  fleet  spread  sail  again  and 
went  on. 

Passing  humpbacked  Isle  Seguin  with  its  noisy  cliffs 
and  its  brood  of  flat-faced  islets,  just  visible  in  the  tawny- 
orange  dawn,  it  pierced  the  squad  of  high  and  rocky 
islands,  each  crested  with  its  tuft  of  hemlocks,  that 
guarded  the  entrance  to  the  Kennebec ;  pushed  in  with  the 
morning  tide  past  Popham  Beach,  where  men  underarms, 
on  the  watch  for  British  'cutters  or  armed  vessels,'1  hailed 
the  patriots  and  furnished  them  a  pilot;  pressed  on,  but 
very  cautiously,  through  the  narrow,  whale-like  mouth  of 
the  river,  plentifully  garnished  with  teeth ;  and  at  length 
reached  Parker's  Flats,  a  famous  anchorage  some  two 
miles  beyond.  Very  thankful  felt  every  one  to  be  there, 
and  with  reason;  for,  besides  the  discomforts  of  the 


i  Lithgow    to    Mass.    Cong.,   June    2,    1775:    4    Force,    II.,    894.     For  the 
authorities  for  this  chapter,  see  REMARK  XXXI. 

520 


To  the  Kennebec 


voyage  and  the  perils  of  sea  and  shore,  General  Gage 
knew  this  very  day  that  an  expedition  had  sailed  from 
Newburyport.3 

To  the  Flats  came  'refreshments '  from  terra  firma ;  and, 
if  a  tradition — a  very  direct  one — may  be  trusted,  Parson 
Emerson,  escorted  by   Deacon   Parker,    came   also,   and 
prayed  with  Arnold 
an  hour  and  a  half     p 
for   the   success   of 
the     campaign. 
Then,    as    expedi- 
tiously  as  possible, 
the  transports  care 
fully   worked  their 
way  up   the  beau 
tiful    but    tortuous 
Kennebec,   turning 
Squirrel  Point,  THE  MOUTH  OF  THE  KENNEBEC 

Green    Point,    and 

Bluff  Head,  and  rounding  Weasel  Point,  Lee  Island, 
and  Indian  Point,  until  they  finally  sighted  'George 
town,'  on  Arrowsic  Island,  about  a  dozen  miles  from  the 
sea.  Here,  noted  Major  Meigs,  were  some  '  elegant  build 
ings,'  to  which  Dearborn  added  '  a  number  of  inhabitants  ' 
and  'a  meeting-house.'  It  was,  in  fact,  a  village  of  some 
importance.  Captain  Lithgow,  formerly  in  the  royal 
service,  occupied  a  house  that  must  have  caught  Meigs' s 
eye;  James  Sullivan,  twice  Governor  of  Massachusetts 
Bay,  probably  shook  hands  with  Arnold  on  the  beach; 
and  McCobb,  lately  town-clerk  here  but  now  one  of  the 
captains,  had  gone  down  to  rejoin  his  company  at  Parker's 
Flats  with  a  good  number  of  Georgetown  recruits.3  Yet, 


2  Gage  to  Sec.  State,  Sept.  20,  1775:  Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Am.  and  W.  I.,  Vol.  420, 
p.  262. 

3  Authorities  used  for  the  history  of  places  in  the  Kennebec  Valley:  Maine 
Hist.    Soc.    Coll.,    particularly    I.    and   VIII.;     Williamson,    Maine  :    Hansonv 


522   Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

after  all,  the  place  was  only  a  settlement.  In  June,  not 
over  thirty  pounds  of  powder  could  be  found  in  the 
village4;  and  evidently,  if  the  expedition  required  a  base 
of  operations  on  the  river,  it  must  be  looked  for 
above. 

'Very  troublesome  indeed,'  was  Arnold's  description  of 
the  voyage  up  the  Kennebec5;  and  his  difficulties,  though 
spaced  here  and  there  with  easy  water,  did  not  end  at 
Georgetown.  A  short  distance  beyond,  he  found  the 
capricious  river  turning  suddenly  to  the  west  at  Fiddler's 
Reach,  settling  down  then  for  a  few  miles  of  wide,  straight 
water  in  the  L,ong  Reach  so  welcome  to  skippers.  Here 
two  missing  vessels  of  the  fleet  rejoined  him,  well  punished 
for  choosing  the  broad  way  of  Sheepscot  River  by  having 
to  worry  a  passage  through  Lower  and  Upper  Hellgate. 
Then  another  bad  left-handed  twist  at  Telegraph  Point, 
with  handfuls  of  islands  on  each  side,  another  sharp  swing 
to  the  west  through  the  Chops,  and  the  murmuring  prows 
entered  Merrymeeting  Bay.  Four  rivers  large  enough  to 
have  names,  joining  the  Kennebec  here,  made  a  lake  about 
six  miles  long,  where  sturgeon  and  salmon  kept  the  water 
boiling,  and  fishing-schooners  had  been  frosting  the  blue 
mirror  for  half  a  century  already.  But  the  respite  proved 
short.  Just  above  the  Bay,  Swan  Island  Flats  provided 
an  excellent  opportunity  for  running  aground,  which  was 
not  overlooked  by  some  of  the  transports ;  and  the  hard 
passage  at  Lovejoy's  Narrows,  a  little  way  beyond,  helped 
rob  the  hour-glasses  of  their  precious  grains. 

But  the  worst   of  it    had   now   been   passed.     Above 


Gardiner,    etc. ;     North,  Augusta ;    Reed,    Bath,    and   personal   information 
Kingsbury  and  Deyo,  Kennebec  County;  Hanson,  Norridgewock  and  Canaan 
Varney,  Maine  Gazetteer  ;  Whitney,  Kennebec  Valley;  Small,  Swan's  Island  , 
Weston,  Canaan  (MS.);  town  records  (MS.);  the  Journals  of  the  Expedition 
articles  and  personal  letters  by  C.  £.  Allen,  historian  of  Dresden,  particularly 
an   article    in   N.    E)ng.   Mag.,  July,  igoi  ;    information   from    Captain   Nash 
of  Augusta  and  other  reliable  local  historians  and  antiquarians. 

4Ivithg-ow-  Note  i. 

5  To  Tracy,  Sept.  28,  1775 :  4  Force,  III.,  829. 


Up  the  Lower  Kennebec 


523 


Swan  Island,  Parker's  Ferry  plied  back  and  forth  in 
peace.  On  the  left  could  be  seen  Fort  Richmond  ;  but  it 
offered  no  promise  of  aid,  however,  for  it  had  never  been 
anything  but  a  protected  house,  and  was  now  hardly  more 
than  a  ruin.  Nor  could  much  be  expected  from  Pownal- 
borough  on  the  right— the  Dresden  of  to-day— with  its 
decaying  Fort  Shirley,  its  big,  square  court-house  that 
never  could  decay,  and  its  little  knot  of  humble  dwellings. 
Here  the  good  Tory  parson,  Jacob  Bailey,  preached  to  a 
congregation  suspected  of  holding  much  the  same  opinion. 
Yet  when  the  people  had  found  themselves  on  the  point 
of  starving,  only  two  months  before,  and  Gage  offered  pro 
visions  in  exchange  for  fuel,  they  turned  to  the  Massachu 
setts  Congress  instead,  crying:  'Give  us  bread,  and  we  will 
cheerfully  sacrifice  our  lives,  our  all  in  the  common  cause.'6 
But  a  famishing  village,  however  patriotic,  could  not 
bolster  an  expedition  against  Canada. 

Astride  the  river,  beyond  Pownalborough,  lay  a  wide 
tract  rightfully  called  Gardinerston,  after   Dr.  Sylvester 
Gardiner  of  Boston,  the  proprietor,  but  usually  known  in 
1775    as    Pittston, 
because  the  stiff  old     f 
doctor    would    not 
crook  his  knees  to 
the  new  doctrines, 
and     the     patriots 
would  not  let  their 
town  bear  the  name 
of  a  Tory.  Here,  on 
the   eastern     shore 
of  the  broad  Ken 
nebec,  j  ust    below 
a  little  turn  in  the 
river,     could    be     found 


MERRYMEETINQ   BAY 


a    narrow    strip    of    meadow, 


6  Bridge  to  Mass.  Cong.,  July  u,  1775'  4  Force,  II.,  1648. 


524  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

where  tough  oaks,  well  suited  to  furnish  the  ribs 
for  boats,  loved  to  grow.  High  above,  at  the  verge 
of  a  terraced  bluff,  stood  the  house  of  Major  Colburn, 
while  at  the  edge  of  the  water  lay  his  shipyard. 

It  was  now  early  in  the  afternoon  of  Thursday,  September 
the  twenty-first,— the  weather  fair,  a  good  breeze  blowing 
from  somewhere  near  the  north,  and  the  tide  ebbing. 
Everything  looked  a-bustle  in  the  shipyard.  Colburn 
himself  was  on  hand,  strong  and  hearty.  On  hand  was 
Thomas  Agry,  too,  a  shipwright  who  had  settled  at  the 
Point  a  year  before.  A  squad  of  workmen  were  whacking 
away  at  their  smartest  on  oars,  poles,  and  paddles,  and 
not  far  off  on  the  shore  lay  the  fruit  of  the  labor  already 
done, — two  hundred  flat- bottomed  boats  with  high,  flaring 
sides  and  a  rather  long,  sharp  nose  at  both  stem  and 
stern. 

At  this  moment  a  boat  was  seen  approaching  from  below, 
and  everybody  straightened  up  to  watch  it.  Evidently  the 
helmsman  was  making  for  the  shipyard.  From  the  fleet, 
some  one  suggested;  tide  and  wind  are  against  them,  so 
they  have  taken  to  the  oars. 

In  a  little  while  the  visitors  were  alongside,  and  an 
officer  stepped  quickly  ashore,  without  waiting  to  be 
quite  clear  of  the  water.  His  uniform  was  that  adopted 
in  February  by  the  second  company  of  the  Governor's 
Foot  Guards  of  New  Haven :  a  cocked  hat  with  a  plume  ; 
a  scarlet  coat  with  cuffs,  collar,  and  lapels  of  buff,  and 
plain  silver-washed  buttons ;  waistcoat,  breeches,  and 
stockings  of  white  linen ;  black  half-leggings;  and  a  'small, 
fashionable,  and  narrow-ruffled  shirt.'  Rather  a  short 
man,  he  seemed,  but  stocky  and  athletic,  and  very  quick 
in  his  movements.  Raven-black  hair,  a  high,  hot  com 
plexion,  a  long,  keen  nose,  a  domineering  chin,  persua 
sive,  smiling  lips,  haughty  brows,  and  the  boldest  eyes 
man  ever  saw,  completed  him.  Major  Colburn  had 


Discouragements  Disregarded  525 

talked  with  the  officer  in  Cambridge.  '  Good  day,  Colo 
nel  Arnold!'  he  said,  and  saluted.7 

Without  delay,  the  bateaux  underwent  an  inspection, 
and  the  leader's  face  darkened.  Beyond  a  doubt,  Colburn 
had  been  given  a  hard  task:  to  go  from  Cambridge  to 
Gardinerston,  secure  lumber  and  workmen,  and  make  two 
hundred  boats, — all  within  eighteen  days.  Probably  the 
navigation  of  the  upper  Kennebec  had  seldom  been  at 
tempted,  perhaps  never,  except  in  lightly  freighted  canoes 
or  pirogues,  so  that  Colburn  and  Agry  did  not  fully  under 
stand  the  requirements.  But,  whatever  the  explanation, 
here  were  the  bateaux,  and  Arnold,  familiar  with  water- 
craft  of  many  sorts,  commented  sharply  to  himself:  'Com 
pleted,  yes;  but  many  of  them  smaller  than  the  directions 
given,  and  badly,  very  badly  built.'8  They  could  not  be 
rejected,  however;  and  he  contented  himself  as  best  he 
could,  ordering  twenty  more  to  be  constructed  in  the 
briefest  possible  time. 

Information  was  another  need  that  Colburn  had  under 
taken  to  supply.  By  Washington's  order,  he  had  been 
directed,  even  before  Schuyler's  letter  made  the  expedi 
tion  a  formal  certainty,  to  send  scouts  along  the  proposed 
route  'in  order  to  see  what  were  the  obstacles  Col.  Arnold 
would  be  likely  to  meet.'  Dennis  Getchell,  recently 
Captain  of  the  town  of  Vassalborough,  with  Samuel  Berry 
of  the  same  place,  undertook  the  commission,  and  'Sat 
out,'  September  the  first,  with  several  helpers,  on  their 
'  intented  Journey  to  Quebeck.'  Twelve  days  later  their 
report  was  in  writing  and  on  its  way  to  Colburn  ;  and  now 
Arnold  received  it.  Promptness  again.9 

7  §  Uniform:  Thompson,  Hist.   2d  Co.  Gov.'s  Foot  Guards,  under  Feb.  2, 
1775.    The  portrait  of  Arnold  is  from  pictures  and  descriptions:  see,  e.  g.,  I.  N. 
Arnold,  Arnold,  p.  29  ;  Henry,  Journal,  p.  12.     The  scene  is  inferential.     The 
point  just  above  the  site  of  the  shipyard  is  now  called  Green's  hedges  Point. 
Colburn's  house  is  still  occupied  by  the  family. 

8  See  Arnold  to  Wash.,  Sept.  25,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  960. 

9  §  J.  Reed's  mem.:  4  Force,  III.,  962.    G.  and  B.  to  Colburn,  Sept.  13,  1775: 
Smith,  Arnold's  March,  p.  80.  Vassalborough  town  records. 


526   Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

But  again  disappointment.  On  the  seventh  of  Septem 
ber  they  had  'arrived  at  an  Indian  Camp  30  miles  dis 
tance  ...  up  Dead  River  good  water' ;  and  from  Natauis, 
the  proprietor,  they  'got  intelligence  that  he  was  em 
ployed  by  Governor  Charlton  [Carleton]  to  Watch  the 
Motions  of  an  Army  or  Spies  that  was  daily  expected 
from  New  England— that  there  were  Spies  on  the  Head 
of  Chaudiere  River,  [and]  that  Some  way  down  the 


THE  SITE  OF  COLBURN'S   BOAT-YARD 

River  there  was  Stationed  a  Regular  Officer  &  Six 
privates.'  Natanis  positively  declared  that,  if  they  pro 
ceeded  farther,  'he  would  give  information  of  his 
Suspicion '  of  their  designs,  '  as  otherwise  he  should  Betray 
the  Trust  Reposed  in  him.'  This  information  was  in 
part  confirmed  by  a  squaw,  and  she  not  only  added  a 
'great  Number  of  Mohawks'  on  the  upper  Chaudiere,  but 
confessed  that  'the  Spy  was  in  daily  expectation  of  the 
arrival  of  Three  Canoes  of  Indians.'  Getchell's  native 
guide  refused  to  go  farther ;  and,  after  pushing  on  one 
day  more,  the  scouting  party  gave  up.  Disappointing? 


Information  Secured  527 

It  was  more  than  that.  The  information  that  Arnold 
wanted  did  not  come,  and  the  news  that  he  least  desired 
overwhelmed  him  :  Carleton  knew  of  the  expedition.  B  ut 
did  he?  The  sanguine  leader  would  not  believe  it;  and, 
snapping  his  fingers  at  the  whole  story,  he  wrote  Wash 
ington  that  Natanis  was  'a  noted  villain,'  and  '  very  little 
credit '  should  be  given  his  tales.10 

From  another  source,  however,  information  came.  At 
Pownalborough  lived  Samuel  Goodwin,  surveyor  to  the 
proprietors  of  the  *  Kennebec  Purchase,'  and  in  his 
possession  were  documents  of  great  value.  About  the 
first  of  September,  Colburn  had  informed  Goodwin  that 
copies  of  these  were  desired,  and  now  the  finished 
papers  awaited  Arnold.  Besides  delineating  '  the  seacoast, 
from  Cape  Elizabeth  to  Penobscot,'  the  maps  showed  '  the 
River  Kennebeck  to  the  several  heads  thereof,  and  the 
several  carrying  places  to  Ammeguntick  Pond  and  [the] 
Chaudiere  River,  .  .  .  and  the  posses  and  carrying 
places  to  Quebeck';  and  the  packet  included  also  'a 
copy  of  a  journal  which  represented  all  the  quick  water 
and  carrying  places  to  and  from  Quebeck.'  Was  this 
Montresor's?  One  cannot  be  sure;  but  certainly,  from 
some  source,  Arnold  obtained  both  the  Journal  and  the 
map  of  this  British  engineer.  As  four  of  the  St.  Francis 
Indians  were  coming  on  by  land  to  join  the  detachment, 
it  now  looked  quite  feasible,  despite  the  failure  of  Getch- 
eli's  party,  to  thread  intelligently  the  wilderness  path.11 

Colburn  had  evidently  been  very  active,  and  might  still 
be  counted  on  for  vigorous  work ;  but  his  boat-yard  could 
not  be  considered  a  base  of  operations.  Nor  could  the 
busy  mills  a  couple  of  miles  above,  the  nucleus  of  Gardi 
ner  city.  People  came  thirty  miles  to  grind  their  corn 


10  §  Smith,  Arnold's  March,  p.  80.    Arnold  to  Wash.,  Sept.  25,  1775:  4  Force, 
III.,  960. 

1 1  Goodwin  to  Wash.,  Oct.  17,  1775 :  4  Force,  III.,  1084.     REMARK  XXXVI. 


528    Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

there,  and  every  week-day  the  twang  of  the  saws  pierced 
the  roar  of  the  falls  from  morning  till  night.  Dr.  Gardi 
ner's  houses — two  stories  high  in  front,  but  running  down 
with  a  long  cosy-looking  roof  to  one  story  behind — 
opened  their  doors  wide  to  the  soldiers.  His  Great 
House,  the  finest  inn  of  the  district,  had  rid  itself  of  his 
Tory  son  when  the  young  fellow  refused  to  abjure  tea, 
and  now  welcomed  Arnold's  officers  with  a  small  bonfire 
on  its  hearth.  All  the  village  leaders,  in  straight-fronted 
coats,  single-breasted  waistcoats  padded  over  the  hips, 
ruffled  shirts  with  long  wristbands,  wigs  more  or  less 
ample,  and  three-cornered  hats  of  napless  beaver  more  or 
less  tremendous,  greeted  the  patriots  warmly.  The  ladies, 
in  high-heeled  shoes,  hoop  petticoats,  and  closely  stayed 
waists,  led  by  Madam  North,  a  Boston  lady  of  the  old 
school,  dignified,  charming,  and  witty,  graced  the 
hospitality;  while  the  plain  lassies,  clad  in  brave  calico 
worth  six  shillings  a  yard,  bade  honest  Joe  a  cordial 
though  blushing  welcome.  But  the  tall  pines  reared 
their  splendid  phalanx  unbroken  as  yet  on  Church  Hill; 
the  forests  of  maple  and  beech  marched  their  gor 
geous  autumnal  banners  nigh  up  to  the  doors  of  the 
mills,  and  the  shad,  salmon,  sturgeon,  and  herring  nearly 
burst  the  fisherman's  net  on  the  river  just  below.  It  was 
only  a  frontier  settlement,  after  all.12 

Many  of  the  troops  halted  at  this  point  or  near  it. 
Some  of  the  vessels  could  go  on — about  nine  miles — to 
Fort  Western,  but  more  of  them  found  the  water  too 
shallow,  as  the  season  had  been  remarkably  dry,13  and 
surrendered  their  cargoes  to  the  bateaux.  In  short,  the 
detachment  split  up  for  a  time  ;  but  Arnold  reached  Fort 
Western  at  six  o'clock  Saturday  evening,  the  twenty- 
third  of  September,  and  substantially  the  whole  of  his 

1 2  See  particularly  Hanson,  Gardiner,  p.  87 

1 3  Report  of  Getchell  and  Berry :  Note  9. 


VOL.  i._34. 


530   Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

force  arrived  at  the  same  destination  before  Sunday. 
More  than  a  week  had  passed,  however,  in  what  had  no 
doubt  been  looked  forward  to  as  a  short  and  easy  trip. 

Fort  Western  has  been  termed  Arnold's  base  ;  but  that 
it  neither  was  nor  could  be.  The  settlement  at  this  point 
had  been  incorporated  as  a  town  in  1771  ;  and  the  next 
year  it  made  an  appropriation  for  'schooling  and  preach 
ing.'  Some  of  Arnold's  men  probably  heard  Parson 
Allen  expound  the  Word.  But  the  hamlet  was  not  able 
to  support  even  the  meekest  of  dominies  regularly  for 
about  a  dozen  years  more,  and  that  single  fact  demon 
strated  its  feebleness.  As  for  the  Fort  itself,  its  title  had 
never  been  more  than  one  of  courtesy.  It  was  merely  a 
barrack  or  storehouse  of  squared  pine  timbers  a  foot  thick, 
deftly  mortised  together  as  perhaps  the  cunning  workmen 
joined  King  Hiram's  fragrant  cedar  for  the  temple  at 
Jerusalem,  with  two  blockhouses  and  a  double  palisade. 
Even  Governor  Shirley,  the  founder,  called  it  only  '  a 
strong,  defensible  magazine';  and  when,  five  years  after 
its  erection,  Wolfe's  victory  banished  the  fear  of  redskins, 
the  soldiers  departed,  the  palisades  followed,  and  the 
central  building  became  the  property  of  the  commander, 
James  Howard,  Bsquire.  No  large  stocks  of  supplies 
existed,  and  Arnold  made  no  endeavor  to  create  an 
artificial  dep6t  here.14 

But  Fort  Western  was  certainly  a  nodal  point  of  the 
expedition.  Some  rustic  festivities  probably  made  a 
pale  reflection  of  Newburyport.  Indeed,  tradition  speaks 
of  a  barbecue,  and  the  officers  found  handsome  entertain 
ment  at  the  Great  House  about  a  mile  above,  where 
lived  at  this  time  the  'exceeding  hospitable,  opulent.,  polite 
family'  of  Esquire  Howard  himself,  as  Dr.  Senter,  the 
surgeon  of  the  detachment,  described  it.  Here,  too, 


»4  Arnold  to  Farnsworth,  Sept.  29,  1775:  Maine  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  I.,  p.  359. 


The  Wilderness  March  Begins  531 

some  of  the  bad  blood  of  the  troops  worked  itself  off. 
Several  of  the  foreigners  had  to  be  severely  whipped,  and  a 
soldier,  bent  on  shooting  his  captain,  fired  through  a  door 
at  night  and  killed  one  of  his  comrades.  But  the  main 
business  was  organizing  for  the  wilderness  march  and 
launching  the  expedition.  Arnold  knew  the  precious- 
ness  of  time,  and  evidently  he  wasted  none  in  frivolities. 

The  very  day  after  his  late  arrival,  while  Allen  and 
Brown  were  concocting  their  unlucky  plan  to  surprise 
Montreal,  he  ordered  two  advance  parties  up  the  Kenne- 
bec.  One  of  them,  under  Lieutenant  Church,  was 
directed  to  note  '  the  exact  courses  and  distances  to  Dead 
River,'  and  had  a  surveyor  with  it  for  the  purpose.  The 
other,  led  by  the  brave  and  active  Lieutenant  Steele, 
whose  first  name  should  have  been  Damascus,  received  a 
more  arduous  commission :  it  was  to  ascend  the  Kennebec 
and  Dead  River,  cross  the  Height  of  Land,  and  penetrate 
into  Canada  as  far  as  Lake  Megantic,  reconnoitring  the 
route,  marking  it  when  necessary,  and  securing  all  the 
obtainable  information  from  certain  Indians,  reported  to 
be  hunting  in  that  quarter. 

Fort  Western,  a  little  more  than  forty  miles  from  the 
sea,  was  the  head  of  navigation  on  the  Kennebec,  for  here 
began  a  half-mile  of  rapids  ;  and  all  the  belongings  of  the 
army  had  to  be  transported  a  hundred  and  sixty  rods  by 
land.  Yet  so  vigorously  did  Arnold  push  the  work, 
that  on  Monday  the  advance  began  in  earnest. 

As  the  point  of  his  arrow,  tempered  and  sharpened 
against  both  forest  and  savage,  he  sent  forward  the  rifle 
companies,  under  the  command — or,  rather,  under  the 
leadership — of  Morgan,  with  orders  'to  clear  the  roads 
over  the  carrying  places.'  At  noon  on  Tuesday,  the 
twenty-sixth,  Captains  Thayer  and  Topham  of  Rhode 
Island  and  Hubbard  of  Massachusetts  Bay  set  out,  with 
Christopher  Greene  as  their  lieutenant-colonel  and 


532   Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

Timothy  Bigelow  as  their  major.  Wednesday,  Major 
Return  J.  Meigs  embarked  with  Captains  Dearborn, 
Ward,  Hanchet,  and  Goodrich,  Arnold's  third  division. 
Lieutenant- Colonel  Roger  Bnos,  with  Captains  Williams, 
McCobb,  and  Scott,  composed  the  rear,  and  it  was  their 
turn  to  move  on  the  twenty -eighth.  But  many  loose 
ends  had  to  be  caught  up  ;  oars,  paddles,  and  supplies 
brought  from  Colburn's  ;  a  few  invalids,  criminals,  and 
stragglers  disposed  of;  and  it  was  not  until  ten  o'clock, 
Friday  morning,  that  McCobb' s  and  Scott's  companies 
got  entirely  off,  leaving  Bnos,  the  Commissary,  and 
Williams' s  company  still  behind.  The  chaplain  and  the 
surgeon's  party,  Burr  and  his  friend  Ogden,  Oswald,  who 
had  served  under  Arnold  at  the  lakes,  Henry,  Porterfield, 
and  the  other  'volunteers'— men  who  paid  their  own 
expenses  and  could  retire  at  any  time  15— all  had  places 
assigned  them. 

One  by  one  the  bateaux,  freighted  with  provisions  for 
six  weeks  and  manned  by  about  four  men  each,  turned 
their  sharp  noses  up-stream,  and  glided  smartly  away 
toward  Fort  Halifax,  eighteen  miles  or  so  above,  pursued 
with  cheers,  adieus,  and  soldiers'  rough  pleasantries. 
The  rest  of  the  troops  marched  off  in  the  same  direction 
by  an  overgrown  military  road  on  the  left  bank  ;  and  on 
Friday  Arnold,  throwing  himself  into  a  pirogue  about 
noon,  struck  out  for  the  head  of  the  column.  '  We  shall 
be  able  to  perform  the  march,'  he  wrote  Washington,  '  in 
twenty  days.'16 

Fort  Halifax,  at  the  junction  of  the  Sebasticook  and 
the  Kennebec,  built  (1754)  less  for  the  public  defence, 
apparently,  than  to  help  the  land  company  draw  settlers, 
was  intended  to  be  worthy  of  its  name,  but  shrank  in  the 


i  s  I4nn  and  Kgle,  Perm.,  I.,  p.  3. 

1 6  To  Wash.,  Sept.  25, 1775 :  4  Force,  III.,  960. 


At  Fort  Halifax 


533 


building  to  a  fraction  of  the  dimensions  proposed.  That 
was  enough,  however,  to  lodge  a  hundred  men  on  the 
sandy  point  and  shelter  a  dozen,  with  a  couple  of  2- 
pounders  and  a  swivel,  at  the  high  edge  of  the  plateau 
just  behind.  For  a  while,  Captain  I^ithgow's  men 
hunted  the  deer  in  summer  and  slid  the  ladies  on  the  ice 
in  winter,  and  the  boom  of  a  gun,  every  morning  and 
every  evening,  proclaimed  to  a  vast  solitude  that  King 


THE  NORTH  HOUSE,  QARDINERSTON 

George  still  reigned  and  land  was  still  for  sale;  but 
Montresor  found  the  palisade  already  in  a  '  bad  '  condition, 
and  Henry,  one  of  Steele's  party,  described  the  whole 
place  as  '  in  a  ruinous  state.'  A  scanty  population  had 
gathered  near;  but  neither  fort  nor  settlement  could 
signify  much  to  the  expedition. 

Something  else  at  the  place,  however,  signified  a  great 
deal.  Just  above  the  point  began  Ticonic  Falls,  another 
long  rapid  in  the  Kennebec,  and  now  the  soldiers  learned 


534  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

what  a  carrying-place  was  like.  One  after  another  all  the 
bateaux  drew  up  to  the  landing.  If  heavy,  the  freight  was 
taken  out.  Then  the  crew  sprang  into  the  water,  slipped 
a  couple  of  hand-spikes  under  the  bottom  of  the  craft  near 
the  ends,  raised  it  by  main  force,  and  staggered  up  the 
bank.  With  the  aid  of  the  shore  party,  bateaux  and 
lading  were  carried  beyond  the  rapids  ;  and  finally  the 
boats,  reloaded,  began  their  journey  again.  The  bateaux 
themselves,  Dr.  Senter  guessed,  weighed  the  trifle  of  '  not 
less  than  four  hundred  pounds  '  apiece.  Guns,  ammuni 
tion,  provisions,  tents,  baggage,  axes,  and  spades,  utensils 
of  every  kind,  supplies  of  all  sorts,  made  up  the  total  to 
above  one  hundred  tons.  It  might  have  been  still  more, 
of  course  ;  but  certainly  this  was  a  tidy  parcel  for  weary 
backs,  and  the  task  of  transporting  it,  even  with  the  aid 
of  a  few  horses  and  oxen,  proved,  as  the  surgeon 
estimated,  a  labor  *  little  to  be  envied  by  any  short  of 
galley  slaves.' 

Above  Ticonic  Falls,  the  shore  party  found  a  sort  of 
road  on  the  western  bank  of  the  Kennebec,  and  walked 
on  in  loose  order  comfortably  enough,  catching  glimpses 
now  and  then  between  the  trees  of  a  dark-blue  river  dotted 
with  moving  specks,  and  crunching  a  sylvan  music  out  of 
the  crisp  but  still  brilliant  autumn  leaves  under  their 
feet,  as  if  marching  to  victory  on  a  rainbow.  Not  so  fared 
the  bateaumen.  Here  came  the  Five  Mile  Falls,  where 
the  Kennebec  descended  thirty-four  feet  in  a  series  of  tu 
multuous  rapids  'very  dangerous  &  difficult  to  pass,'  as 
the  commander  testified.  Kven  before  reaching  Fort 
Halifax,  Haskell  discovered  that  the  men  had  *  a  scene  of 
trouble  to  go  through  in  this  river ' ;  but,  in  comparison 
with  the  fearful  toil  of  breasting  such  a  current,  the  strain 
below  had  only  been  enough  to  tickle  their  hemlock  backs. 

'Any  man  would  think  at  its  first  appearance,'  wrote 
Dearborn,  '  that  it  was  impossible  to  get  Boats  up  it.'  A 


A  Battle  with  the  Kennebec 


535 


thousand  obstructions  beat  the  rushing  stream   to  a  fury. 
Jagged  ledges  sawed  the  bottoms  of  the  bateaux.     Fierce 
billows  pounded  them  against  the  cliffs.     Sunken  logs, 
greasy  with  ooze  ;  soft   islets,     paved  with    treacherous 
moss  ;  hidden  stones,  polished  and  slippery,   lay  in  wait 
for  the  boatmen  as  they  waded  the  stream,  now  up  to  the 
waist,  now  up  to  the  chin,  beating  on  against  current  and 
waves,  clutching  at  this  and  that  along  the  shore,  and 
still  tugging  as  they  could  at  the  painters  of  the  bateaux, 
or  pushing  at  their  sterns.     Often  they  *  plunged  over  the 
head  in  to  deep  basons.' 
Trees  thrust  out  their 
crooked  roots  to  strip 
them   into    the   river, 
when  they  were  haul 

ing  by  ropes  from  the 

shore  ;  cliffs  barred 

their  way  ;  banks  fell 

beneath  them  ;  and  the 

piercing     cry,   'Help, 

help  !  '  now  here,  now 

there,    mingled   often 

with   the  roar  of  the 

white    water.       'You 

would  have  taken  the 

men    for    amphibious 

animals,'    wrote  their 

commander,   'as   they 

were    great     part    of       FORT  HALIFAX  BLOCKHOUSE  ABOUT  1865 

the  time  under   water'17;  and   through   all   this  passed 

the    expedition    to    Quebec,—  every    gun,    every     flint, 

every  ounce  of  flour,  every  grain  of  powder. 
1  Now  we  are  learning  to  be  soldiers,  '  exclaimed  Haskell  ; 


may 


536   Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

and  these  were  indeed  the  A-B-C's  of  their  battle  with  the 
wilderness.     But  it  was  a  long  way  still  to  the  Z  ! 

Twenty  miles  or  a  little  more  beyond  Fort  Halifax, 
toiled  the  soldiers  along  the  shining  Kennebec,  between  its 
walls  of  beech,  hemlock,  butternut,  white  pine,  and  cedar  ; 
and  then  came  Skowhegan,  the '  Place  of  Watch,'  where 
the  river  suddenly  changed  its  course  a  full  quarter  of  a 
circle. 

Just  at  the  turn,  two  ledges  on  the  opposite  shores 
formed  a  gateway  some  twenty-five  feet  wide,  guarded 
below  by  a  whirlpool  on  each  side.  Through  this  passage 
every  bateau  had  to  force  its  perilous  way  ;  and  then,  full 
on  the  bow,  the  river  struck  it,  rushing,  grey  with  foam, 
down  a  gorge  like  the  bore  of  a  cannon.  For  nearly  half 
a  mile,  the  boatmen — tugging,  pulling,  and  poling  as  best 
they  could — had  to  drive  their  unwilling  craft  against  the 
stream.  And  then,  'after  a  Bundance  of  difficulties,'  as 
an  officer  wrote  in  his  Journal,  they  found  themselves, 
not  in  smooth  water,  but  hemmed  in  by  vertical  walls  of 
rock,  and  facing  a  long  cataract  of  white,  broken  in  the 
middle  by  a  dark,  jagged,  Plutonian  island  of  stone. 

To  attempt  the  cataract  was  beyond  the  strength  of 
Argonauts  even,  and  the  best  they  could  do  was  to  carry 
the  bateaux  up  a  slight  break  in  the  towering  wall  of  the 
island.  This  is  what  the  Indians  did  with  their  canoes, 
and  they  found  it  hard  enough  ;  but  a  birch  cockleshell 
differed  immensely  from  a  bateau  of  green  pine.  Now 
and  then  an  unlucky  step  would  trip  a  soldier,  perhaps, 
and  his  fellows  would  lose  their  ticklish  balance  ;  to  save 
themselves  from  death,  they  would  let  the  bateau  go  ;  with 
a  rush  it  would  bang  down  the  face  of  the  cliff,  smashing 
into  splinters  at  the  bottom  ;  and  fortunate  indeed  were 
the  crew  behind,  if  they  escaped  unhurt. 

But  at  last  this,  too,  was  accomplished,  and  the  toilers 
fell  panting  on  the  greensward  above,  where  the  Indian 


At  Norridgewock  Falls  537 

fishermen  used  to  make  their  camp.  Over  them  towered 
ancient  pines  ;  the  crisp  October  air  fanned  their  cheeks, 
and  the  deep  voices  of  the  cataracts  drowned  their  care. 
'Much  delay  and  great  fatigue,'  commented  Stocking; 
but  youth,  energy,  and  enthusiasm  triumphed  even  joy 
ously  over  these  hardships.  Aye,  and  they  triumphed  over 
more  ;  for,  when  some  of  the  men  passed  these  falls  and 
lay  down  to  sleep  in  their  dripping  clothes,  they  found 
themselves,  on  awakening,  cased  in  armor  :  their  clothes 
had  frozen.  There  was  no  repining,  yet  reflections  would 
come ;  and  one  of  the  volunteers  wrote :  '  On  the  cold  ground 
at  night,  began  to  think  of  our  comfortable  homes.' 

'  Great  part  of  the  way  small  falls  and  quick  water,'  was 
Arnold's  description  of  the  next  five  miles  ;  to  which 
a  private  soldier  added,  'Sometimes  plumped  over  head.' 
Next  came  Bombazee  Rips  [Rapids],  where,  according  to 
tradition,  the  fatal  bullet  overtook  a  great  orator  of  the 
Kenebaegs,  and  he  plunged  from  a  high  rock  into  the  river. 
And  then,  only  a  little  way  beyond,  almost  exactly  fifty 
miles  from  Fort  Western,  the  boatmen  found  themselves 
face  to  face  with  the  roar  and  foam  of  the  great  Norridge 
wock  Falls. 

Three  pitches,  nearly  half  a  mile  apart,  made  up  this 
tremendous  barrier.  All  were  loud  and  furious,  but  per 
haps  the  second  looked  the  wildest.  One  might  have 
clung  to  the  jagged  rocks  of  the  shore,  and  watched  with 
delight  through  the  spray  the  plunge  of  a  giant  pine,  up 
rooted  and  snapped  in  two  by  the  lightning  and  the 
storm;  listened  to  the  dull  boom  that  accented  the  roar 
of  the  falls  when  it  struck,  end-on,  the  rock-floor  of  the 
abyss  ;  and  then  followed  it  circling  and  tossing  for  a 
while  in  the  boiling  caldron  of  white  surge  ;  but  plainly 
no  boat  could  climb  such  falls,  and  the  bateaumen  had  to 
carry  everything  a  mile  or  so  round  the  barrier. 

Arnold  reached  the  falls  on  the  second  of  October,  and 


538  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 


SKOWHEQAN   FALLS   IN   1902 


found  that  the  leading  division  had  just  got  their  bag 
gage  across  the  portage.     The  second  division  was  then 

approaching,  the 
third  appeared  two 
days  later,  and 
Knos  came  up  when 
another  two  days 
had  passed  ;  but 
the  Colonel  was  not 
able  to  move  again 
until  the  ninth. 
Two  ox-sleds  were 
kept  going  con 
stantly  to  help 
transport  the  bag 
gage,  and  of  course  the  men  served  as  pack-horses  ; 
but  the  distance  was  long,  the  way  bad,  the  hill 
steep,  the  task  almost  endless,  and  the  best  place  to  sleep, 
meanwhile,  a  great  flat  rock. 

Worse  yet,  the  bateaux  were  already  giving  out.  The 
soft  pine  of  the  bottoms  had  worn  through  ;  seams  had 
been  wrenched  open;  and  so  much  water  came  in  that 
one  could  hardly  tell  which  was  river  and  which  was 
bateau.  'If  in  Their  boats  they  had  as  good  be  out,'  said 
lieutenant  Humphrey,  a  careful  man.  Almost  bursting 
with  rage,  the  troops  found  success  and  even  life  imper 
illed  by  these  frail  constructions,  '  many  of  them  little 
better, '  they  exclaimed,  '  than  common  rafts. '  Loud  was 
the  outcry — whether  j  ust  or  not — against  the  builders.  '  Did 
they  not  know  that  their  doings  were  crimes  ?  '  exclaimed 
Morison  ;  '  that  they  were  cheating  their  country,  and  ex 
posing  its  defenders  to  additional  sufferings  ?  '  But  wrath 
and  bitterness  did  not  prevent  work.  In  a  short  while  Col- 
burn  and  his  *  artificers '  appeared,  the  seams  had  a  fresh 
calking,  and  the  bottoms  were  repaired  as  well  as  possible. 


Calamities 


539 


BOMBAZEE    RAPIDS 


But  along  with  this  misfortune  came  a  second,  grimmer 
still.     The  orders  at  Cambridge  had  been  well  framed : 
'  As  it  is  imagined 
the  officers  and  men 
sent  from    the    re 
giments    .    .    .  will 
be  such  volunteers 
as  are  active  woods 
men   and  well   ac- 
q  u  a  i  n  t  e  d    with 
bateaux,    so    it    is 
recommended   that 
none  but  such  will 
offer  themselves  for 
this  service  '  ;  yet  for  some  reason  this  hint  did  not  bear 
the  fruit  expected.     '  Very  few  of  the  men,'  observed  the 
surgeon,    'had  ever  been  acquainted  with  this  kind  of 
savage  navigation,'  though  doubtless  many  had  boated 
on  quiet  rivers.     Strength  and  good  intentions  could  not 
supply  the  place  of  skill,  when  quick  water  was  in  question; 
and,  consequently,  floods  had  entered  the  bateaux  by  the 
top  as  well  as  the  bottom. 

The  salt  had  washed  out  of  the  dried  fish  loaded  in 
bulk,  and  all  of  it  had  spoiled.  The  casks  of  dried  peas 
and  biscuit  had  burst  and  been  lost.  Kven  the  salt  pork, 
the  staple  of  army  provender,  had  suffered,  and  much  of 
it  needed  to  be  repacked ;  while  the  salt  beef,  cured 
in  hot  weather,  proved  unfit  for  use.  Up  to  this  point, 
provisions  had  been  obtained  now  and  then  from  people 
along  the  way — poultry,  smoked  salmon,  and  moose-meat, 
for  example ;  with  occasionally,  no  doubt,  a  mouthful  of 
fresh  beef  and  vegetables,  or  a  fat  beaver  tail — but  for  the 
future  there  could  be  no  such  delicacies.  A  few  oxen 
might  be  driven  along  ;  the  forward  companies  would  be 
able  to  bring  in  a  little  game  before  the  deer  and  moose 


540  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

were  frightened  away  ;  but  evidently  flour  and  pork  were 
to  be  the  two  crutches  of  existence  now,  and  who  could 
say  whether  they  would  not  break  down  ? 

Still  another  fact  made  Norridgewock  Falls  memorable 
in  the  annals  of  the  march.  About  a  mile  below,  Sebas- 
tien  Rale,  a  French  Jesuit  from  Canada,  had  lived  in  the 
midst  of  his  Abenaki  proselytes.  At  the  head  of  an 
avenue  of  bark  wigwams  two  hundred  feet  wide,  his 
church — where  forty  young  Indians  with  teeth  whiter 
than  ivory  served  in  cassocks  at  the  altar— had  been 
thronged  with  tall,  powerful  braves,  wrapped  in  soft  skins 
or  in  loose  robes  of  red  or  blue18 ;  but  his  mixture  of 
politics  with  religion  had  invited  the  penalty  of  war,  and 
only  vestiges  of  the  town  remained. 

Now,  progress  was  approaching  from  the  south.  Scat 
tered  along  the  river  at  intervals,  a  number  of  inhabited 
spots  had  been  found  above  Fort  Halifax,  and  at  Skow- 
hegan  Falls  a  rude  mill  was  going  up.  Two  or  three 
families  had  made  themselves  homes  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
old  Indian  town  of  Norridgewock,  and  at  one  of  the  cabins 
Meigs  found  a  baby,  little  Sallie  Fletcher,  cooing  round- 
eyed  at  so  many  tall  men  going  by,  and  so  many  long, 
shiny  sticks  on  their  shoulders.  But  this  told  the  story, 
and  here  was  the  end  of  it, — a  wee,  soft  bud  on  the  top 
shoot  of  civilization.  Beyond  lay  solitude,  a  smokeless 
void,  the  Wilderness.  '  Who  will  ever  delight  to  dwell 
there  ?  '  cried  Morison  ;  '  Nature  has  appointed  it  for  the 
beasts  of  the  forest,  and  not  for  man.' 

Sobered  by  this  adieu  to  mankind,  the  army  pressed 
on  more  thoughtfully.  Yet,  after  all,  the  true  wilds  had 
not  been  reached.  Naturally  this  was  an  Eden.  Oppo 
site  Rale's  village,  when  the  palefaces  discovered  that 
spot,  the  grass  could  be  tied  above  the  head  of  a  tall  man. 

1  8  Rale  to  his  brother,  Oct.  12,  1723 :  Jesuit  Rel.,  I^XVII.,  pp.  135,  i37. 


Adieu  to  Civilization 

*  That  land  never  yet  told  a  lie, '  said  a  resident  later. 
Even  beyond  the  triple  barrier  of  falls,  the  high,  rough 
slopes,  covered  with  sombre  evergreens,  were  brightened 
here  and  there  at  the  river's  edge  with  groves  of  sugar- 
maples,  clutching  still  some  last  remnants  of  their  faded 
splendor ;  and  Senter  camped  luxuriously  on  the  joint- 
grass.  But  at  the  next  obstacle,  Carritunk  Falls,  the  gen 
uine  wilderness  began  to  be  felt.  This  was  the  Ultima 
Thule  of  the  salmon  and  of  all  else.  Huge  piles  of  fero- 


THE    MIDDLE    PITCH   OF    NORRIDGEWOCK    FALLS 

cious  black  rock  flanked  the  approach  to  the  cataract. 
The  brooding  hemlock,  the  sighing  pine,  the  mournful 
cypress,  and  even  the  spectral  birch  stealing  into  the  midst 
of  the  evergreens  here  and  there,  offered  no  warmth  of  color. 
The  country  below  had  often  spread  into  wide,  fair  plains  ; 
but  above  there  were  only  highlands.  Off  toward  the 
left  appeared  the  mountains  that  must  be  traversed  ;  and 
very  dismal  they  seemed  to  the  troops,  cold-looking  as 
they  were,  covered  with  'doleful  barren  woods,'  and 
already  topped  with  snow.  Nor  was  that  the  worst  of  it, 
perhaps.  'Here,'  noted  Lieutenant  Humphrey  in  his  Jour- 


542   Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

nal  at  this  point,    '  here  I  shall  observe  that  we  had  no 
pilot.' 

Yet  the  army  pressed  resolutely  on.  The  Kennebec, 
stripped  of  large  confluents,  became  a  mountain  stream, 
swift  and  shallow.  On  the  higher  ground  above  the 
river  on  the  eastern  shore,  moose  tracks,  crossed  every  few 
rods,  attested  the  savageness  of  the  country.  Old  Bluff 
thrust  a  rough  shoulder  into  the  path.  The  weather 
turned  cold.  A  chilly  rain  set  in.  The  last  pale  rags  of 
autumnal  cheer  were  threshed  from  the  birches.  Closer 
and  still  closer  grew  the  valley,  until  at  last — about  thirty- 
two  miles19  from  Norridgewock  Falls — a  mountain  stood 
up  out  of  the  river  straight  ahead  '  in  shape  of  a  shugar 
Ivoaf,'  as  Arnold  wrote,  and  the  noisy  clamor  of  a  brook, 
emptying  into  the  river  from  the  west,  made  itself  heard. 

The  troops  halted.  This  was  the  Great  Carrying- Place, 
and  now  the  Kennebec  was  to  be  left  behind.  The  one 
last  link  between  them  and  civilization  had  to  be  broken. 

Dead  River,  taking  its  rise  near  what  is  now  the  Cana 
dian  boundary,  flowed  in  a  southeasterly  direction  toward 
the  valley  of  the  Kennebec,  but,  just  before  arriving  there, 
turned  to  the  north  and  east  in  a  great  bow,  and  emptied 
a  considerable  distance  above.  Along  the  bow  the  river 
was  not  easily  navigable,  even  for  canoes ;  but  nature  had 
atoned  in  part  for  establishing  this  barrier  by  planting 
three  ponds  between  the  Kennebec  and  the  turn  of  Dead 
River.  Here  the  troops  had  before  them  eight  miles  of 
land-carriage  divided  into  four  portages,  and  about  four 
miles  of  boating  across  the  ponds.  They  would  finally  ar 
rive  at  a  small  stream,  called  Bog  Brook  ;  and,  after  pad 
dling  down  its  winding  channel  about  a  mile,  would 
enter  Dead  River.20 


i9  In  this  and  similar  cases,  distance  by  the  river  is  meant. 

2  o  The  Great  Carrying-Place  is  well  known  and  much  frequented  by  sports 
men  at  the  present  day.  Most  of  the  names  of  mountains  and  streams  are  of 
course  recent. 


The  Great  Carrying-Place 


543 


To  a  little  party  of  hunters,  freighted  only  with  their 
birch  canoe,  a  trip  across  the  Great  Carrying-Place  offered 
roses  enough  to  atone  handsomely  for  its  thorns.  First, 
they  wound  in  and  out  by  a  moderate  ascent  of  three  miles 
and  a  quarter  through  pleasant  woods,  with  a  sociable 
brook  chattering  agreeably  for  a  time  in  the  deep  gorge  on 
the  right;  and  then, 
quite  suddenly, 
they  found  them 
selves  gazing  at  a 
broad  expanse  of 
dark  water,  shut  in 
with  a  frosted  rim 
of  the  deepest 
green,  surrounded 
by  low,  densely 
wooded  hills  that 
swept  far  away  in  CARRITUNK  FALLS  IN  1902 

magnificent      b  i  1- 

lows,  and  enlivened  now  and  then,  in  the  depths  of  its 
green  shadows  along  the  shore,  by  the  sudden  flash  and 
splash  of  a  salmon-trout. 

A  comfortable  trail  over  firm  ground  led  them  from  this 
to  the  second  pond,  a  muddy  sheet  in  the  form  of  an  hour 
glass,  thickly  decorated  here  and  there  with  oily  pads  of 
the  cow-lily,  dear  to  the  moose,  and  encompassed  with  a 
high  wall  of  close  j  unipers,  gloomy  but  beautiful.  Beyond 
that  came  a  trail  far  from  comfortable,  much  of  the  way, 
yet  not  at  all  desperate  for  light  feet ;  and  this  brought  the 
travellers,  as  a  full  compensation,  to  the  third  lake,  the 
largest  and  loveliest  of  the  three,  a  true  gem  of  the  forest. 

Busy  though  Arnold  was,  he  paused  here  to  write:  '  the 
prospect  is  very  beautiful  and  noble.'  All  around  the 
horizon  undulated  a  line  of  wooded  hills,  achieving  here 
and  there  the  climax  of  a  modest  peak.  On  the  southwest 


544  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

rose  the  broad  cone  of  Carry  ing -Place  Mountain,  swelling 
upward  from  the  very  edge  of  the  lake.  Remoter,  but  not 
distant,  Burnt  Jacket,  Bald  Mountain,  and  Mount  Stewart 
continued  thecircuit ;  and  at  length,  just  in  front,  the  cloven 
summit  of  Mount  Bigelow  stood  up  in  soft  blue,  casting  a 
high  glance  over  the  rim  of  hills,  like  Prince  Charming 
first  setting  eyes  on  the  sleeping  beauty. 

A  rather  sharp  ascent  conducted  the  hunters  then  to  a 
long  downward  slope,  a  broad  savannah,  and  the  Brook  ; 
but  at  the  summit  they  were  likely  to  take  their  ease  for 
a  time,  stretched  on  the  pine  needles  at  the  foot  of  some 
forest  patriarch.  With  a  keen  though  careless  ear,  they 
might  listen  to  the  myriad  subtle  voices  of  the  woods, 
broken  at  times  with  quick,  sharp  accents  :  now  the  dis 
tant  yelp  of  a  hurrying  wolf  sniffing  warily  the  strange 
scent;  now  the  warning  scream  of  a  wise  old  crow,  alight 
ing  on  a  limb  overhead  but  instantly  thinking  better  of  it ; 
now  the  sudden  astonished  chatter  of  a  crystal-eyed  squir 
rel  ;  and  now  the  bounds  of  a  tawny  deer,  beating  the 
ground  desperately  for  cover,  after  hovering  a  moment,  with 
quivering,  for  ward -pointed  ears,  at  the  edge  of  the  copse. 
Without  stirring  from  the  soft  bed,  one  of  them  could 
pluck  up  a  fragrant  ginseng  root,  and  another  garner  a 
handful  of  scarlet  bunchberries  ;  but  it  was  better  to  lie 
still  and  gaze  through  narrowed  eyelids  into  the  mystic 
roofing  of  this  vast  sylvan  cathedral,  half-drowned  in  some 
thing  like  the  placid,  indolent  content  of  a  salmon  or  a 
trout,  hanging  motionless  in  deep,  clear,  and  living  water. 

But  to  Arnold's  men,  unhappily,  the  Great  Carrying- 
Place  presented  a  rougher  side.  The  path  was  only  an 
Indian  trail,  discernible  even  had  it  not  been  marked  by 
Steele's  party,  but  in  no  sense  a  road  or  even  a  path. 
Morgan's  division  found  it  impossible  to  execute  their  or 
ders,  for  the  rest  of  the  army  came  close  upon  their  heels ; 
and  the  road-building — so  far  as  it  was  done  at  all — had 


Fearful  Hardships 


545 


to  be  done  in  the  most  hurried  and  primitive  style.  A 
furious  rain  on  the  eighth  of  October— a  day  or  two  after 
the  van  arrived— not  only  suspended  all  such  work,  but 
soaked  the  ground  so  badly  that  no  dry  place  to  lie  down 
could  be  found,  and  many  of  the  men  sat  up  all  night 
around  their  fires.  Heavy  frosts,  hard  squalls  of  snow, 
and  more  rain  checkered  the  following  week.  A  gale 
lashed  the  ponds  into  fury  and  forbade  the  passage  of 
boats.  The  water  of  the  second  lake,  dyed  saffron- 
color  by  decaying  vegetation,  sickened  the  troops  with 
complaints  that  were  distressing,  if  not  fatal.  Exposure 
and  excessive  labor  began  to  bear  fruit  in  breakdowns, 
and  a  hospital  had  to  be  thrown  together  on  the  second 
portage. 

To  be  sure,  there  were  bright  spots  in  the  picture  still. 
Cheer  and  good-humor  kept  the  men  up.  'The  merry 
joke,  the  hearty  laugh,'  and  even  the  jolly  song  went 
round.  A  mishap  became  the  text  for  endless  banter  and 
rallies.  The  novelty  and  picturesqueness  of  the  scenes 
were  a  constant  ex 
hilaration.  The 
flash  of  gold  lace 
and  steel  among 
the  trees  ;  the  glim 
mering  tents ;  the 
lively  creaking  of 
oars  in  the  pins ; 
the  boatmen's 
halloos  and  the 
loud  calls  of  the 
officers;  the  ringing 
strokes  of  many 
axes,  and  the  crash  of  huge  pines  and  hemlocks,  coming 
down  amidst  the  cheers  of  the  men  ;  the  great  fires  ;  the 
clouds  of  smoke,  now  rising  straight  up  like  pillars  of  the 

VOL.  I.— 35. 


THE    KENNEBEC   WHERE   ARNOLD    LEFT   IT 


546  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

sky,  and  now  swirling  and  rushing  leeward  in  the  squalls  ;. 
the  busy  cook-tents,  and  the  soldiers  gathered  near  them  at 
meal  time,  sitting  on  their  heels,  and  appeasing  their  spruce 
appetites  with  bread  and  pork, — all  these  had  a  charm  and 
stimulus  for  the  spirits  ;  and  hardly  less  the  camps  at  night, 
if  one  chanced  to  be  awake  :  everything  still  except  the 
crackling  fires,  the  slow-sailing  moon  pouring  the  glamour 
of  its  beams  upon  the  hush  of  the  forest,  and  the  pale,  mys 
terious  glow  of  the  rotten  beech- wood  answering  it  from 
the  gloomy  dells. 

But  these  things  were  asides ;  and  the  real  drama  con 
sisted  of  the  plainest  and  hardest  and  most  exasperating 
work.  Bvery  superfluity  had  to  be  cast  off.  The  pork 
was  unpacked  and  slung  on  poles.  Each  barrel  of  flour 
travelled  on  two  ropes  fastened  to  long  sticks,  which  four 
men  carried.  The  boats  themselves,  turned  bottom-side 
up,  rode  on  the  shoulders  of  an  equal  number,  two  sup 
porting  each  edge.  Seven  or  eight  journeys  had  to  be 
made,  back  and  forth,  to  move  everything  across  each 
portage.  On  the  first  carry,  the  men  sank  almost  knee- 
deep  a  large  part  of  the  way.  The  trail  across  the  third 
lay  through  a  slimy  bog  'choaked  up  with  Roots,'  as 
Arnold  wrote.  As  for  the  last  portage,  Squier  described 
the  beginning  of  it  as  a  'very  bad  way/  and  the  final 
mile  as  '  a  hundred  times  worse. ' 

Indeed,  it  was  enough  to  break  a  poor  fellow's  heart, 
this  last  mile.  Fair  and  firm  the  ground  looked  from  a 
distance;  fair  and  even,  laid  with  a  carpet  of  grey-green 
moss,  with  a  grove  in  the  middle  and  patches  of  half- 
withered  bushes  here  and  there  ;  but  at  almost  every  step 
one  sank  to  the  knee,  and  had  for  footing  the  sharp,  broken 
limbs  of  spruces  and  cedars  that  had  fallen  into  the  morass 
and  sunk  there.  Over  this  penitential  route — 'hideous,' 
the  surgeon  called  it — had  to  be  carried  the  bateaux,  the 
boat- furniture,  the  barrels  of  flour,  the  long  poles  of  pork, 


Fearful  Hardships  547 

the  guns,  kegs  of  powder,  tents,  and  utensils.  Sliding 
about  in  the  greasy  mire  or  '  stumbling  over  old  fallen 
logs, '  one  of  the  four  men  carrying  a  boat  on  their  shoulders 
would  perhaps  go  down.  Down  would  go  the  boat ;  and 
every  now  and  tl_-_  :::_  of  the  rickety  things  would  smash. 
Sometimes  a  barrel  of  flour  rolled  from  the  tripping  porters 
into  a  bog-hole,  and  the  porters  had  to  plunge  in  after  it, 
emerging  presently  'plastered  with  mud  from  neck  to 
heel. '  A  thousand  such  miserable  accidents  pursued  one 
another  incessantly  ;  and,  when  the  day's  work  was  over, 
the  soldiers  had  to  camp  as  they  could,  sometimes  after- 
nightfall,  sometimes  in  a  storm  and  without  protection. 
'Very  rainy  and  we  no  shelter  but  the  Heavens,'  wrote 
Squier  after  one  of  these  days  of  struggle.  Yet  they  toiled 
on  to  the  end  of  it  without  a  murmur,  congratulating 
themselves  on  escaping  '  those  terrible  spectres,  spleen 
and  melancholy,  the  usual  companions  of  idleness.' 

The  leaders  proved  themselves  worthy  of  such  troops. 
Though  always  officers,  they  were  always  men.  They 
made  no  point  of  formalities,  assumed  no  airs,  ordered 
nobody  about;  but  led,  cheered,  aided,  and  shared  in 
every  toil  and  every  hardship. 

It  was  in  fact  no  ordinary  group,  those  officers  and 
volunteers.  Christopher  Greene,  struggling  here  in  the 
bog  with  a  radiant  face  and  shining  eyes,  might  have  had 
a  favored  place  with  his  kinsman  Nathanael.  Ward,  the 
son  of  a  noble  governor  of  Rhode  Island,  one  of  the 'ear 
liest  apostles  of  independence,  could  have  claimed  by 
right  of  birth  and  education  a  career  of  ease  with  honor. 
Bigelow,  who  drew  from  Washington  the  exclamation, 
'  This  is  discipline  indeed  ! '  when  his  company  passed 
in  review,21  was  an  ideal  patriot.  Porterfield,  though  he 
fell  in  early  life,  was  to  gain  high  distinction  ;  Ogden  was 

21  Essex  Instit.  Hist.  Coll.,  XXXIII.,  p.  249. 


548  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

to  become  a  colonel,  Nichols  and  Simpson  were  to  be 
generals ;  Oswald,  fighting  in  the  French  Revolution, 
was  to  repay  a  portion  of  America's  debt  to  Lafayette  ; 
Meigs  to  be  decreed  the  thanks  of  Congress  and  a  sword 
of  honor ;  Thayer  to  become  famous  as  the  hero  of  Fort 
Mifflin ;  Burr  to  be  chosen  vice-president ;  Dearborn  to 
stand  at  the  head  of  the  American  army. 

But  now  they  toiled  with  the  plainest  of  the  soldiers  ; 
and,  foremost  of  all,  the  pattern  and  guide  of  all,  toiled 
Daniel  Morgan,  the  champion  of  Saratoga,  the  Cowpens, 
and  many  another  hard  field.  He  no  longer  wore  the 
frock  of  the  rifle  corps  nor  the  cocked  hat  that  adorned 
his  big  head  at  Parker's  Flats,  with  its  bit  of  paper  and 
the  words,  '  Liberty  or  Death.'  Stripped  to  the  dress  of  the 
woods,  the  spare  costume  of  the  Indian,  he  braved 
the  cold  and  the  thickets  with  only  a  cloth  round  his 
loins,  urging  on  the  work  with  the  arm  of  Achilles  and 
the  voice  of  Stentor.  Bushes  and  briars  crisscrossed  many 
ragged  lines  of  red  over  his  thighs ;  but  what  were  they 
after  the  British  scourge,  whose  five  hundred  unmerited 
cuts  less  one  had  torn  that  silken  back  to  shreds  ?  'J2 

Arnold  himself  arrived  at  the  Great  Carry  ing- Place  on 
the  eleventh  of  October,  only  four  or  five  days  later 
than  his  van,  and  left  it  on  the  sixteenth,  only  four  days 
earlier  than  his  rear ;  and  he  found  enough  to  do  meanwhile. 
Steele,  leaving  a  part  of  his  famishing  company  on  Dead 
River  to  await  relief,  hurried  back  with  his  news  ;  Church 
also  reported ;  and  then  both  were  despatched  on  similar 
missions  farther  ahead.  The  surplus  provisions,  which 
the  Commissary  had  been  directed  to  lodge  at  Fort  Hali 
fax,  were  now  ordered  on  to  the  Great  Carrying-Place, — a 
command  that  was  not  and  perhaps  could  not  be  obeyed.23 


2  2  Graham,  Morgan,  p.  29. 

23  Arnold  to  Farnsworth,  Oct.  14,  1775:  Me.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  I.,  p.  362.    The 
account  of  Enos's  retreat  (Squier's  Diary)  shows  that  the  order  was  not  obeyed 


550  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

A  full  account  of  the  situation  was  forwarded  to  Washing 
ton  :  about  950  effectives  now,  provisions  for  some  twenty- 
five  days,  the  worst  of  the  difficulties  past.24  Not  every 
point  of  importance  caught  the  leader's  eyes;  but  many 
things  did,  and  various  prudent  measures  resulted. 

Yet  Arnold's  labors  were  less  than  his  anxieties.  The 
responsibility  of  his  position  could  not  be  mistaken.  Upon 
the  execution  of  his  trust,  wrote  Washington,  '  the  safety 
and  welfare  of  the  whole  continent '  might  depend. 
Samuel  Adams  confessed  that  he  felt  *  exceedingly  anx 
ious  '  to  hear  from  the  northern  and  eastern  armies ; 
and,  with  a  hand  less  firm  than  usual,  was  writing  at  this 
very  time,  '  Should  they  succeed,  (God  grant  they  may  !) 
the  plan  which  our  Knemies  have  laid  for  the  Destruction 
of  the  New  England  Colonies,  and  in  the  event  [that]  of 
all  the  rest,  will  be  defeated. '  On  the  fourth  of  October, 
Joseph  Reed  had  forwarded  hopeful  news :  '  At  present 
there  is  not  a  single  regular  at  Quebeck,  nor  have  they 
the  least  suspicion  of  any  danger  from  any  other  quarter 
than  General  Schuyler.'  Two  days  later,  Montgomery 
confirmed  this :  '  I  believe  there  is  nothing  to  oppose 
him. '  Indeed,  only  a  week  after  the  detachment  set  out, 
a  rumor  circulated  at  Cambridge  that  Canadians  friendly 
to  the  Provincials  had  seized  Quebec.25 

How  much  was  true  in  these  reports  ?  And  what  could 
be  expected  of  the  western  army  ?  Should  that  retreat 
after  Arnold  had  passed  the  mountains,  wheat  between 
the  millstones  could  not  be  ground  finer  than  he  would 
be.  Arnold  felt  that  he  must  send  word  of  his  march  and 
secure  fresh  information  from  the  north  and  the  west. 

Indians  were  the  natural  and  perhaps  the  only  available 
messengers.  Could  they  be  trusted  ?  There  was  no  doubt 


24  Oct.  13:  Me.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  I.,  p.  361. 

25  §  Wash,  to  Arnold,  Sept.  14,  1775:  Writings  (Ford),  III.,  p.  124.     Adams, 
Oct.  20,  1775:  S.  Adams  Papers.    J.  Reed:  4  Force,  III.,  947  (see  Wash,  to  Cong., 
Oct.  5:  ib.,  956).    Montg.  to  Sch.,  Oct.  6,  1775:  ib.,  ICQS.     N.  Y.  Journal,  Sept.  28. 


Arnold's  Anxieties  551 

a  risk  ;  but  Washington  himself  had  urged  that  '  all  pos 
sible  intelligence '  be  gained  on  the  march,  and  had  rec 
ommended  employing  the  St.  Francis  Indians  for  that 
purpose.  The  risk  must  be  accepted ;  and  Arnold  now 
despatched  a  letter  to  his  friend  Mercier  at  Quebec,  en 
closing  one  for  the  western  commander.26 

Knos — was  it  possible  that  he  wavered  ?  He  had  served 
long,  and  proved  himself  a  good  though  not  a  brilliant 
officer.  For  routine  work  he  could  certainly  be  relied 
upon.  But  this  was  not  an  ordinary  affair.  The  rules  of 
war  had  no  place  in  it.  Its  leader  counted  fewer  years 
than  the  commander  of  the  rear-guard,  and  had  not  a 
single  campaign  to  his  credit.  How  did  Bnos  relish  those 
facts  ?  Could  the  expedition  survive  a  serious  defection  ? 
What  passed  between  the  two  men  did  not  find  its 
way  to  paper ;  but  for  some  reason  Arnold  felt  it  neces 
sary  to  lure  Enos  on  to  Dead  River  with  a  letter  that  he 
did  not  himself  believe.27 

Finally,  even  should  the  little  army  hold  together  and 
Quebec  be  willing  to  open  her  gates,  would  he  be  able 
to  reach  that  splendid  prize  ?  What  obstacles  might  not 
confronthim  later,  when  so  far  every  difficulty  had  exceeded 
expectation  ? 

Just  as  the  pioneers  began  work  on  the  morass  at  the 
end  of  the  fourth  portage,  a  little  party  of  men  staggered 
over  to  them  from  the  other  side, — bent,  gaunt,  unkempt, 
sallow,  ghastly,  scarce  able  to  trail  one  foot  after  the 
other.  These  were  the  rest  of  Steele's  reconnoitring 
company.  The  relief  sent  them  had  somehow  failed  to 
arrive  ;  the  army,  delayed  by  obstacles  and  misfortunes, 
appeared  to  have  retreated  ;  and  they,  with  what  strength 
remained,  undertook  to  find  their  comrades.  At  Fort 


26  §  "Wash,  to  Arnold  (Instructions) :  Writings  (Ford),  III.,  p.  121.    Arnold 
to  Mercier  and  Sch.,  Oct.  13,  1775:  Me.  Hist.   Soc.  Coll.,  I.,  pp.  359,  360. 

27  To  Enos,  Oct.  15,  1775:  Me.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  I.,  p.  362  (cf.  Arnold  to  Wash., 
Oct.  13:  ib.,  p.  361). 


552   Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

Western,  they  had  been  the  picked  men  of  an  army  of 
picked  men.  One  of  them  was  young  Henry,  powerful, 
tireless,  unquenchably  vital.  The  others  were  like  him. 
'  Never  declare  war  on  a  desert !  '  Napoleon  recom 
mended  after  his  Egyptian  campaign.  Arnold  had 
challenged  the  Wilderness,  and  that  with  about  a  hundred 
miles  of  water,  instead  of  a  prudent  base,  at  his  back. 
*  The  greatest  difficulty  being,  I  hope  already  past, '  he 
had  written  Washington28;  yet  at  that  very  time  he  did 
not  feel  sure  of  advancing  beyond  Lake  Megantic,  and 
Steele's  haggard  comrades,  with  the  answer  to  his 
challenge  carved  in  their  faces,  had  not  yet  staggered 
into  camp.  It  was  bold  ;  it  was  brilliant ;  it  was  justifiable. 
But,  so  far  as  concerned  results,  it  was  bold,  brilliant, 
justifiable  gambling. 

2 s  To  Wash.,  Oct.  13:  Note  27. 


XIX 

STERN  REALITIES 

BUT  Dead  River  seemed  an  end  of  all  troubles.  The 
falls  and  shallows  that  prevented  passing  up  that 
branch  from  the  Kennebec  served  as  a  kind  of  dam  ;  and 
the  stream,  flowing  for  miles  above  through  a  level  flood- 
plain,  looked  as  quiet  as  a  mill-pond. 

Northward,  the  mountains  drew  far  away,  and  south 
ward  also  the  sky  bent  low.  To  the  southwest,  indeed, 
only  two  or  three  miles  distant,  Mt.  Bigelow  reared  an 
imposing  and  even  tremendous  front,  dark  with  forests 
of  evergreens  and  bristling  here  and  there  with  ledges  ; 
but  his  massive  bulk,  though  he  robbed  the  intervale  of 
half  its  afternoon  and  filled  the  river  at  every  turn  with 
a  huge  black  silhouette,  seemed  rather  a  guardian  than 
a  foe,  and  the  low  valley,  opening  peacefully  toward 
Canada,  appeared  to  repose  at  his  feet.1 

Emerging,  one  by  one,  from  the  dreadful  morass  of  the 
fourth  portage,  the  boat  crews  let  the  bateaux  glide  quickly 
into  the  deep,  meandering  Brook  which  bounded  it ;  and, 
after  less  than  a  mile  of  the  easiest  paddling,  they  found 
themselves  in  Dead  River,  here  about  sixty  yards  wide. 

In  the  corner  between  the  two  streams,  a  large  field  of 

i  The  author  visited  several  times  the  district  covered  by  this  chapter. 
Dead  River  and  the  ponds  were  studied  by  canoe,  and  nearly  all  of  the  way  by 
land  also,  and  where  difficulties  arose  were  examined  repeatedly.  The  best 
guides  were  employed  to  take  measurements  and  obtain  other  information  ; 
and  reliable  '  old  residents  '  gave  valuable  assistance.  For  further  information 
as  to  the  authorities  (exclusively  first-hand)  tor  this  Chapter,  see  REMARK. 
XXXI. 

553 


554  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 


wild  grass,  walled  in  with  murmuring  pines,  offered  soft 
beds,  and  very  gratefully  the  army  halted.  Fires  were 
soon  lighted  and  the  tents  put  up.  A  yoke  of  oxen  that 
had  been  driven  from  the  settlements  provided  every 
soldier  with  a  savory  meal  or  two.  Many  a  line  dropped 
its  barbed  invitation  into  the  water,  and  trout  '  in  plenty, 
of  a  very  large  size,  and  excellent  quality,'  accepted  it 
promptly.  Doctor  Senter,  who  still  had  a  few  potatoes, 
drew  forth  his  'small  butter  box,'  and  made  'a  most 
luxurious  supper. '  Meigs  and  Hanchet  found  time  and 
strength  for  an  excursion  to  Mt.  Bigelow,  and  even  the 
weariest  and  gloomiest  of  the  troops  absorbed  some 
radiance  from  the  calmly  beautiful  scene.  As  soon  as 
possible,  however,  the  bateaux  took  in  their  lading  and 
headed  for  the  northwest. 

Unfortunately  the  river  proved   somewhat  deceptive. 
"When  they  gave  a  name  to  it,'  said  Humphrey,  'They 

mist  it  very  much 

r  "^  ~i     for  the  current  runs 

very  Swift ' ;  and 
some  of  the  crews 
had  to  aid  their 
paddles  and  oars  by 
pulling  at  the  low 
bushes  on  either 
bank.  But  at  least 
it  seemed  a  most 
gentle  and  leisurely 
stream,  and  cer 
tainly  it  bore  little 

resemblance  to  the  Kennebec.  If  the  current  moved 
faster  than  it  appeared  to  move,  at  all  events  it  flowed 
like  oil.  Mile  after  mile,  the  river  wound  languidly 
in  and  out,  as  if  Mt.  Bigelow  were  a  lodestone  to  it  ;  and 
the  wayfarers,  after  bidding  good-bye  over  and  over 


MOUNT   BIGELOW   FROM   BOG   BROOK 


Beautiful  Dead  River  555 

again  to  that  lordly  pile,  again  found  its  vast  wall  dead- 
ahead,  buttressed  with  shadowy  bastions  and  turreted 
with  ledgy  peaks. 

The  smooth  water,  purring  and  curling  around  the 
boats,  looked  black  as  ink  a  rod  or  two  away  ;  but  yonder, 
where  the  slanting  beams  of  the  sun  struck  across,  it 
glowed  with  a  pale,  golden-blue  flush,  brightened  with 
quickly  vanishing  stars  where  countless  invisible  wings 
dipped  into  invisible  dust,  and  radiant  here  and  there 
with  dimples  and  smiles  above  an  unseen  rock  or  a  sunken 
log.  The  steep,  almost  vertical  banks,  exceeding  the 
height  of  a  tall  man,  were  upholstered  with  alders  and 
willows,  dogwood  and  ferns ;  while  the  boughs  of  soft- 
maples,  firs,  pines,  and  elms,  white  birches  and  cedars  em 
broidered  the  sky  above.  Where  a  turn  of  the  river  left 
some  crumbs  of  beach,  a  merry  sandpiper  bobbed  jauntily 
up  and  down  his  tiny  realm  ;  while  opposite,  in  a  little 
hollow,  retired  and  marshy,  a  stalwart  bullfrog  snapped  a 
drowsy  pizzicato ;  and,  a  little  farther  on,  in  the  massed 
evergreens,  one  lingering  hermit  thrush  chanted  his  ring 
ing  notes.  Now  and  then,  a  scolding  crow  flapped  heav 
ily  from  a  pine,  or  a  tardy  bee  flashed  across  the  river 
above  one's  head  like  a  humming  bullet.  At  long  inter 
vals,  a  trout  broke  the  perfection  of  the  mirror  ;  and  here 
and  there,  through  gaps  in  the  bank  and  the  forest,  one 
caught  far  glimpses  of  the  goodly  blue  mountains  on  the 
right.2 

In  this  way,  carrying  around  one  short  obstruction, 
Hurricane  Falls,  the  army  advanced  rapidly.  Placed  end 
to  end,  the  bateaux  would  have  reached  about  a  mile.  In 
the  rapids  of  the  Kennebec,  as  Morison  exclaimed,  it  had 
been  '  a  magnificent  spectacle  to  behold  a  long  line  of 


2  Based  upon  the  Journals  and  the  present  state  of  things,  which— as  the 
Journals  appear  to  indicate— is  much  the  same  as  in  1775,  so  tar  as  the  natural 
conditions  are  concerned. 


556  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

boats  trailed  up  an  almost  impassible  river  by  their  moor 
ing  ropes  '  ;  and  now,  if  less  exciting,  it  was  far  more 
agreeable  to  watch  them  filing  past—  amid  the  splash  of 
oars  and  the  cheery  calls  of  the  men  —  along  this  aqueous 
avenue  paved  with  black  velvet,  while  the  shore  parties 
made  their  way  by  land  through  grass  and  trees,—  now 
vanishing  and  now,  with  a  bright  flash  of  steel,  reap 
pearing. 

About  thirteen  miles  from  Bog  Brook,  on  a  '  Point  of 
Land  beautifully  situated,'  stood  the  cabin  of  Natanis,  _ 
'Sataness,'    many  called   him,    adding,    in   explanation, 
'  as  big  a  rouge  as  ever  Existed  under  heaven  '  ;  and,  a 

league  or  some 
thing  more  beyond 
this  point,  Greene's 
division  pitched  its 
tents  on  the  six 
teenth  of  October. 
Arnold  arrived 
there  in  the  eve 
ning.  Morgan  and 
the  riflemen,  who 


LOWER    DEAD    RIVER    AND    MT.    BIQELOW 

with  road-making, 

lay  a  short  distance  behind.  Dearborn  camped  at  the  falls 
below,  with  the  rest  of  Meigs's  division  not  far  away  ;  and 
Enos's  troops,  taking  advantage  of  the  road  already  built 
were  pressing  after.  It  seemed  as  if  the  smooth  highway 
to  victory  had  been  found,  and  soldier  jollity  shook  its 
rough  sides  once  more.  Steele's  party,  to  be  sure  had 
fared  ominously  on  this  river.  His  canoes  had  been 
wrecked.  Fatigue  had  dipped  out  the  spring  of  the  men's 
abounding  vitality.  With  plenty  of  wild  meat-all  that 
one  could  ask  of  the  forest-but  without  salt,  fat,  or  bread 
they  had  almost  perished  of  starvation  ;  and  a  grey  old 


A  Stern  Awakening  557 

wolf,  watching  them  from  his  hummock,  nearly  had  the 
picking  of  their  bones.3  But  now,  with  boats  enough, 
men  enough,  and  supplies  enough,  one  could  feel  secure. 

Stern  was  the  awakening.  Squarely  in  front,  unher 
alded,  unsuspected,  rose  the  hardest  of  hard  realities, — a 
hand-to-hand  struggle  for  existence.  Greene's  division 
now  found  itself  out  of  bread  and  almost  out  of  flour  ;  and, 
when  Arnold  sent  Bigelow  back,  with  twelve  bateaux 
and  ninety-six  men,  to  get  a  fresh  stock  from  the  surplus 
in  Bnos's  keeping,  this  flotilla  returned  with  only  a  barrel 
or  two  ;  no  more  could  be  obtained  ;  no  more,  said  Enos, 
could  be  spared. 

Just  how  this  came  to  pass  one  cannot  fully  under 
stand  ;  for,  only  the  day  before  Greene  put  his  men  on 
half-rations  (October  16),  Arnold  had  stated  that  all  the 
divisions  preceding  the  fourth  had  supplies  for  three 
weeks  and  a  half.4  Had  the  damage  done  on  the  Kenne- 
bec  been  greater  than  he  supposed  ?  Very  possibly.  Had 
the  troops  eaten  more  than  it  was  calculated  they  would  ? 
This  also,  very  possibly.  Men  toiling  out  of  doors  as 
they  toiled,  had  teeth  all  the  way  down  their  throats,  and 
these  fellows  would  not  easily  take  '  No '  for  an  answer. 
They  proved,  said  Humphrey,  a  '  most  ungovennable 
crew, '  and  of  course  that  was  especially  the  case  '  as  long 
as  liquor  lasted.'  A  fixed  allowance — twelve  ounces  of 
bread  and  of  pork  each  day — had  to  be  ordered  ;  but  this 
restriction  dated  only  from  the  fifteenth  of  October,  and 
it  was  then  too  late  for  prudence.  Half-way  to  Quebec, 
fairly  caught  in  the  wilderness,  Greene's  division  could 
almost  see  the  bottom  of  its  flour  barrel ;  and  certainly, 
if  Bnos  was  able  to  give  so  little  assistance,  nothing  could 
be  expected  from  the  corps  ahead. 


3  Henry,  Journal,  pp.  38-46.    Arnold  Falls  are  some  miles  above  where 
Greene  encamped. 

4  Arnold  to  Enos,  Oct.  15,  1775:  Me.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  I.,  p.  363. 


558  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

Clearly,  it  was  a  desperate  case,  and  the  issue  before 
the  division  stood  out  unmistakably  :  to  retreat  at  once  or 
take  the  chances  of  starvation.  Yet  there  was  no  hesita 
tion.  All  '  not  able  to  do  Actual  duty '  were  sent  back  ; 
and  the  rest,  with  heavy  but  resolute  hearts,  pushed  on! 
The  French  settlements,  they  repeated  to  one  another, 
were  not  far  distant,  and  supplies  could  certainly  be  found 
there.  During  their  wait  of  five  days,  the  first  and  third 
divisions  had  passed,  and  now  the  time  must  be  made  up, 
if  possible.  Hungry  ?  Tighten  the  belt. 

But  something  had  occurred  meanwhile.  Thursday,  the 
nineteenth,  there  were  'small  rains,'  as  Arnold  called 
them  ;  the  next  day,  the  downpour  increased  ;  and  Satur 
day  the  army  had  to  reckon  with  a  regular  storm,— no,  an 
altogether  extraordinary  storm,  a  furious,  raging,  slashing, 
intolerable  tempest  from  the  southwest.  '  A  windier  nor 
a  rainier  day  I  never  see,'  wrote  Squier,  with  grammar 
quite  good  enough  to  be  understood.  '  An  almost  hurri 
cane,'  the  surgeon  called  it.  Torrents  of  rain  soaked  the 
poor  soldiers  laboring  to  make  headway  by  land  or  water, 
while  broken  or  uprooted  trees  almost  barred  the  river,  and 
some  of  them—  *  tumbling  upon  all  quarters  '—came  near 
sinking  the  boats.  Evening  brought  an  end  of  toil,  but 
not  a  beginning  of  comfort.  Little  supper  could  be  had 
without  fire  ;  no  fires  were  possible  save  in  tents  ;  no  tents 
could  stand  except  in  the  shelter  of  trees,  and  the  trees 
fell  upon  the  tents  instead  of  shielding"  them. 

Dead  River  drained  a  multitude  of  ponds,  natural  reser 
voirs  among  the  mountains.  The  ponds  were  now  full ;  they 
emptied  their  waters  down  the  valleys;  the  streams  united. 
Out  of  the  darkness  burst  the  flood,  suddenly,  with  a  sweep 
and  a  roar.  In  the  blackness  of  the  blackest  night,  while 
the  torrents  of  rain  drove  like  flails  and  the  trees  were 
crashing  and  smashing  and  shivering,  Arnold,  already  in 
the  foothills,  was  awakened  by  the  chilly  touch  of  water  : 


A  Tempest  and  a  Flood 


559 


the  flood  had  invaded  his  camp.  Happily  he  and  his 
party  succeeded  in  saving  themselves ;  their  baggage, 
instantly  seized  by  the  torrent,  was  rescued  ;  and  then, 
retreating  to  a  small  hill  that  stood  *  very  luckily '  at  hand, 
they  passed  the  remainder  of  the  night  in  misery. 

The  riflemen  lay  about  a  mile  below,  on  a  bank  eight  or 
nine  feet  high  ;  but  the  flood  rose  higher  than  that,  poured 
in  upon  them,  roused  them,  and  forced  them  back  to  higher 
ground.  Farther  away,  where  the  valley  opened,  this 


ARNOLD   FALLS,   DEAD   RIVER3 

rise  of  the  river  was  less  ;  but  it  overflowed  everywhere. 
Nearly  down  to  the  beautiful  Point,  many  miles  from  the 
foothills,  four  feet  of  water  stood  in  the  morning  where  a 
camp-fire  had  been  lighted  the  evening  before  :  'the  river 
raised  we  judged  12  feet,'  noted  a  soldier  there.  Barrels  of 
pork  and  gunpowder  were  swept  away,  and  bateaux  sunk. 
Many  of  the  troops  had  no  shelter  but  hemlock  boughs. 
Worn  by  a  terrible  day's  work,  they  were  sadly  buffeted 
under  this  nominal  shelter.  '  Not  a  dry  thread  had  any 


560  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

of  the  army  all  night,'  Dr.  Senter  said  afterwards;  and 
then,  about  midnight,  the  air  grew  sharp  and  froze  them 
With  the  cold  came  a  searching  wind.  The  pall  overhead 
broke  a  little  ;  a  few  stars  appeared  ;  and  the  poor  shiver 
ing  wretches,  powerless  except  to  suffer,  looked  up  at  their 
canopy  of  swift  storm-clouds,  remembered  sadly  the  snug 
quarters  in  Cambridge,  and  then  braced  themselves  to 
keep  alive  till  morning. 

A  strange  scene  greeted  them  when  the  sun  rose  For 
a  long  distance  above  Greene's  encampment,  Dead"  River 
had  been  everywhere  interesting  and  often  lovely  when 
Steele's  party  made  their  trip.  At  one  spot,  the  trees 
knit  open  fringes  along  the  banks ;  at  another  they 
gathered  m  a  sociable  group.  On  the  right  stood  a  clump 
of  firs  On  the  left,  a  pair  of  great  pines  towered  above 
some  fluttering  birches  like  the  cathedral  spires  above 
Chartres,  with  a  fine  young  elm  keeping  guard  in  front  of 
them  all,  a  soft  maple,  full  of  low,  rich  tones,  bending  from 
the  point  like  a  Sicilian  girl  at  the  fountain,  and  a  tangle 
of  dogwood  tumbling  in  a  little  cataract  of  color  down  the 
bank  ;  while,  half  hiding  in  the  midst  of  it,  the  ribbon  of 
dark  water,  forever  veering  to  right  or  left  as  if  ruled  by 
some  new  fancy,  wove  all  things  into  harmony  with  itself 
and  with  one  another.  Through  reposeful  beauty  like 
that,  how  cheerful-even  strengthening-the  march  would 
nave  been  ! 

But  now  one  saw,  wrote  Arnold,  only  <a  melancholy 
prospect.'  The  Dead  had  become  alive  and  presented  to 
every  eye,  as  to  Henry's,  '  a  most  frightful  aspect  '  In 
stead  of  a  river,  one  beheld  an  immense  lake,  and  sweep 
ing  through  the  midst  of  it,  a  rushing  torrent.  For  a  mile 
on  both  sides,  it  was  thought,  the  lowlands  had  been 
flooded  Yet  the  boats  dared  not  choose  the  quieter 
waters,  for  they  could  not  be  sure  of  a  passage  through 
t  was  necessary  to  follow  as  best  they  might  the  true 


Great  Difficulties  and  Perils  561 

course  of  the  stream,  and  to  stem  the  current  proved 
almost  impossible.  In  many  places,  oars  and  paddles 
counted  for  little,  and  the  poles  could  not  find  bottom. 
Where  the  banks  rose  above  the  flood,  a  man  would  lie 
down  on  the  bow  of  a  bateau,  and  pull  it  along  by  the 
bushes,  while  others  went  ashore  and  hauled  at  the  painter; 
but  this  was  tedious  and  perilous  work  at  the  best,  and 
here  and  there  fallen  trees  almost  barricaded  the  way. 

Above,  among  the  foothills,  where  the  waters  could  not 
spread  so  much,  the  river  was  the  more  furious.  Morgan's 
first  lieutenant  and  '  his  whole  boat's  crew  were  over 
turn  'd,  [and]  lost  every  thing  except  their  lives,  with 
which  they  escaped  very  unexpectedly.'  6  lieutenant 
Simpson,  an  expert  at  boating,  undertook  to  help  a  party 
over  the  stream.  After  several  unsuccessful  attempts  he 
crossed.  Those  in  the  bow  seized  the  small  birches  on 
the  shore,  but  could  not  hold  them,  and  the  bateau  swung 
round.  Again  the  bushes  were  grasped,  '  but  the  strength 
of  the  water  made  the  withes  as  so  many  straws.'  Sev 
eral  of  the  men  sprang  out  ;  that  pushed  the  boat  into  the 
stream  ;  it  upset  instantly,  and  its  occupants  were  caught 
by  the  current.  In  vain  a  pole  was  held  out  to  one  of 
them  :  he  gripped  it  'as  by  the  hand  of  death,'  but  the 
man  on  the  shore  could  not  hold  on  against  the  force 
of  the  current  without  risking  his  own  life  ;  and  the  un 
fortunates,  beyond  all  human  help,  went  rolling  heels  over 
head  down  the  stream,  now  at  the  surface,  now  at  the 
bottom,  now  banging  one  against  another,  and  now  crash 
ing  into  some  rock  or  some  broken  tree.6 

No  better  fortune  befell  the  land  parties.  It  was  impos 
sible  to  keep  along  by  the  river.  Detours  and  wide  circuits 
multiplied  all  distances.  Landmarks  had  been  swallowed 
up.  Dry  gullies  were  now  rushing  streams.  Every  little 


5  Senter,  Journal,  Oct.  22. 

6  Henry,  Journal,  pp.  53-55. 
VOL.  i.— 36. 


562   Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

tributary  had  become  a  river.  Over  and  over  again ,  swollen 
rivulets  had  to  be  followed  until  a  narrow  place  was  found, 
and  a  tree  could  be  felled  across  for  a  bridge.  Once,  if  not 
more  than  once,  a  party  toiled  for  miles  up  a  stream  only 
to  discover  that  it  was  not  Dead  River  at  all.  At  night, 
many  of  the  men  were  unable  to  find  the  boats,  and  had 
to  bivouac  as  they  could,  without  supper  and  without 
breakfast.  Captain  Thayer  and  his  party,  losing  the  route 
entirely,  were  '  cast  in  to  the  greatest  consternation,  not 
being  able  to  make  any  other  way  but  by  wading  through 
the  water  '  ;  and  so  they  kept  on  through  the  night,  al 
most  sinking  with  hunger,  fatigue,  and  cold. 

All  made  the  greatest  exertions.     Meals  were  cooked 
after  dark  and  eaten  in  the  boats,  to  save  every  moment 

of  daylight  for  getting  on  ;  yet 
snails  might  have  scorned  the 
army's  pace.     Finally,  late  on 
Monday  afternoon,  October  the 
twenty-third,    seven    bateaux 
upset  in  attempting  to  ascend 
some    rapids,    and     the    pro 
visions   they   contained    were 
totally  lost.  This  was  a  climax 
of  misfortunes  too  serious  to 
be    ignored.      Evidently    the 
plan  of  the  march  had  broken 
down.      To  push  on  to  Lake 
Megan  tic    and    decide    there 
whether    to    advance    or   not 
was  out  of  the  question,    for 
at  that  point  the  army  would 
not  have  provisions  enough  to  carry  it  back.     The  final 
decision   must  be  made  here ;  and  the  Colonel,  now  in 
company  with  the  first  and  third   divisions,    summoned 
a  council  of  war  immediately. 


NEAR  SHADAGEE  FALLS 


No  Thought  of  Giving  Up  563 

There  was  no  flinching  on  the  leader's  part,  for  Benedict 
Arnold  did  not  lack  energy,  courage,  nor  enterprise.  *  Our 
bold  though  inexperienced  general  discovered  such  firm 
ness  and  zeal  as  inspired  us  with  resolution,'  wrote  Stock 
ing  ;  and  merely  to  call  the  roll  of  the  officers  was  to  record 
so  many  ballots  for  daring  the  worst. 

Most  of  the  men  also  stood  firm.  They  had  enlisted  for 
a  glorious  enterprise,  and  retreat  was  the  last  thing  they 
desired.  Fatigue  and  hardships  had  by  this  time  broken 
many  a  strong  fellow  and  weakened  all,  and  an  excuse  for 
drifting  to  the  rear  lay  close  within  everybody's  reach. 
Yet  instead  of  asking  to  go  back,  the  men  concealed  their 
illness.  '  When  any  of  their  comrades  would  remark  to 
them,'  so  one  of  the  riflemen  recorded,  '  that  they  would 
not  be  able  to  advance  much  farther,  they  would  raise  up 
their  half  bent  bodies,  and  force  an  animated  look  into 
their  ghastly  countenances,  observing  at  the  same  time 
that  they  would  soon  be  well  enough.'7  But  the  menace 
of  actual  starvation  was  terrible.  Toil,  sufFering,  illness, 
half- rations, — all  these  could  be  charmed  away  with  a 
laugh,  a  bit  of  song,  a  jest,  and  a  big-hearted  thought  of 
honor  and  country  ;  but  no  rations  at  all — who  could  win  a 
victory  over  famine  ?  It  was  time  for  the  leaders  to  reflect. 

The  council  met,  and  the  next  morning  its  decisions 
went  into  effect.  Retreat?  No.  Twenty-six  invalids 
only  were  sent  back  ;  Captain  Hanchet,  with  a  picked 
company  of  fifty,  set  out  with  all  speed  for  the  settlements 
in  the  Chaudiere  valley  to  obtain  supplies  ;  the  two  divi 
sions  followed  on  ;  and  Arnold  himself,  after  exhorting 
the  men  to  persevere,  dashed  forward  with  a  small  party 
at  the  head  of  all.  It  was  now  to  be  a  race,  —a  race  against 
time,  a  race  against  hunger. 

The  second  division  was  still  but  little  in  advance  of  the 

7  Morison,  Journal,  Oct.  25. 


564  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

fourth ;  and  the  next  day  after  Arnold  and  Hanchet  pushed 
forward,  Enos  requested  Greene  to  halt  for  a  conference 
of  the  chief  officers  (October  25).  About  noon  the  meeting 
took  place.  No  pomp  or  ado  gave  it  an  air  of  importance. 
A  little  group  of  well  bronzed  men  gathered  informally. 
Some  of  them  sat  on  the  rocks  and  others  found  it  easier 
to  stand.  Here  and  there  a  sword  could  be  seen,  and  here 
and  there  a  touch  of  gold  lace  on  a  dingy  cocked  hat  or  a 
frayed  and  soiled  uniform.  Some  looked  famished,  and  all 
were  tired  and  thin.  But  the  point  at  issue  gave  more 
than  dignity  to  the  meeting.  It  involved  the  question  of 
advance  or  retreat ;  and  all  present  had  reason  to  believe 
that  on  their  decision  hung  the  success  or  failure  of  the 
campaign,  probably  the  fate  of  Canada,  very  likely  the 
future  of  the  United  Colonies,  and  perhaps  the  destiny  of 
the  New  World. 

Enos  presided,  and  near  him  gathered  his  officers,— 
'Melancholy  Aspects,'  growled  the  surgeon,  'who  had 
been  preaching  to  their  men  the  Doctrine  of  impenitra- 
bility  and  non-perseverance.'  Possibly  no  long  sermons 
had  been  required.  Reasons  enough  to  be  discouraged 
lay  on  the  surface,  and  no  doubt  a  part  of  the  soldiers 
wished  to  go  back.  As  in  Morgan's  corps,  many  were 
now  exhausted  with  fatigue  and  privations  :  forty-eight 
invalids  had  been  sent  down  the  river  by  Greene  this 
very  day.  The  swift  water  became  constantly  harder  and 
harder  to  combat,  as  the  army  advanced  farther  into  the 
highlands.  Many  of  the  troops  had  no  tents.  Not  a  few 
lacked  the  needful  clothing.  Everybody  was  hungry. 

'  Fear  was  added  to  sorrow/  as  Stocking  confessed  in 
his  Journal.  The  distance  to  go  grew  long  as  rapidly  as 
it  was  expected  to  grow  short.  So  far  everything  had 
been  worse  than  anybody  anticipated,  and  all  the  unknown 
trials  that  lay  ahead  were  magnified  by  the  fancy  in 
the  same  proportion.  Only  the  night  before,  winter  had 


Enos  Retreats 


565 


thrown  several  inches  of  snow  on  their  path,  as  an  omen 
of  the  cold  shroud  awaiting  them.  Beyond  the  freezing 
wilderness  lurked  the  regulars  and  Mohawks  reported  by 
Getchell.  And  what  was  it  all  for  ?  A  chance  to  get 
killed.  The  end  of  the  march  was  Quebec,  impregnable. 


MAP  or  CHAIN  or  PQNDS. 

ONE  MILE. 


As  well  bombard  these  black  mountains  with  snowballs. 
Thus  reasoned  the  'Melancholy  Aspects,'  no  doubt.8 

But  oh,  how  Greene's  dark  eyes  flamed  at  all  this  !9 
'  Duty,  honor,  forward  !  '  they  commanded ;  and  his 
officers  burned  with  the  same  fire. 


8  REMARK  XXXVII. 

9  This  and  other   references  to   Greene's  personal  appearance  are  based 
upon  a  portrait  in  the  possession  of  Brown  University. 


566  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

Arnold's  orders  of  the  previous  day,  instead  of  author 
izing  a  retreat,  had  urged  Greene  and  Enos  to  press  on, 
taking  as  many  of  their  best  men  as  could  be  furnished 
with  rations  for  fifteen  days  ;  and  at  least  a  hundred  could 
have  been  supplied  for  this  time,  after  allowing  the  rest 
what  seemed  necessary  for  their  return.10  But  evidently 
Enos  and  his  captains  had  resolved  to  withdraw,  and  had 
asked  for  the  conference  merely  to  get  a  semblance  of 
authorization.  Confidence,  hope,  and  spirit  had  failed 
them.  Stepping  up  to  Thayer,  Williams  bade  him  good 
bye  :  'I  wish  you  success,'  he  said;  'but  I've  no 
expectation  of  seeing  you  or  any  of  your  party  again.' 
Both  sides  were  facing  the  same  facts  ;  but  the  second  divi 
sion  felt  ready  to  do  more  than  its  orders,  the  fourth  division 
eager  to  do  less.  One  took  counsel  of  fear,  and  the  other 
of  courage.  That  was  the  difference  ;  and  after  Enos,  for 
the  sake  of  appearances,  had  voted  to  go  on,  he  joined 
with  his  captains  on  the  other  side,  and  at  two  o'clock  the 
fourth  division  received  orders  to  face  about. 

At  least,  then,  said  Greene,  a  division  of  supplies.  It 
was  promised  ;  but  the  promise  failed.  There  were  tears 
in  Enos's  eyes,  a  bystander  thought  ;  but  no  bread  was 
in  his  hand.  The  men,  he  declared,  were  out  of  his 
power,  and  fully  determined  to  keep  the  provisions.  At 
last,  however,  Greene  was  given  two  barrels  of  flour  ;  and, 
with  this  mere  pittance  of  bread,  his  troops,  full  of 
1  determined  resolution  to  go  through  or  die, '  girded  up 
their  loins.  (  Received  it,  put  it  on  board  of  our  boats, 
quit  the  few  tents  we  were  in  possession  of,  with  all  other 
camp  equipage,  took  each  man  to  his  duds  on  his  back, 
bid  them  adieu,  and  away,'— ran  the  surgeon's  record.12 


I  o  In  Arnold's  March,  pp.  385-390,  the   author  has  attempted  to  work  out 
the  problem  of  provisions  and  settle  the  question  of  responsibility. 

I 1  Thayer,  Journal,  Oct.  25. 
i  2  Senter,  Journal,  Oct.  25. 


The  Country  Grows  Wilder  567 

Even  the  contagion  of  selfishness  and  panic  was  power 
less  to  touch  these  heroes. 

Reduced  now  to  about  seven  hundred  men,  the  feeble 
army  toiled  on.  Upper  Dead  River  had  little  resemblance 
to  the  deep,  smooth  avenue  below.  Meadows  had  given 
place  to  hills,  and  hills  began  to  make  way  for  still  bolder 
scenery.  'The  heights  of  land  upon  each  side  of  the 
river,  which  had  hitherto  been  inconsiderable,'  said  one 
of  the  wayfarers,  '  now  became  prodigiously  mountanious, 
closing  as  it  were  down  up[on]  the  river  with  an  aspect 
of  an  immense  height.'  13  More  and  more  they  seemed 
to  bar  the  way  just  ahead,  though  the  water  always  con 
trived  some  twist  or  tumble  that  let  it  through. 

The  flood  had  vanished  almost  as  quickly  as  it  came, 
for  the  drainage  area  was  narrow  and  steep  ;  and  now  the 
boatmen  were  troubled  by  the  shallows.  Swifter  and 
swifter  grew  the  current.  Closer  and  closer  followed 
rapids  on  rapids.  Now  the  falls  were  like  a  staircase, 
with  a  curling  wave  for  every  step  ;  now  they  made  a 
sudden  pitch  several  feet  high  ;  and,  whatever  they  looked 
like,  they  always  announced  extra  labor  and  more  delay. 
Once,  at  least,  they  meant  a  further  loss  of  bateaux  and 
provisions  ;  and  when  at  last  the  boatmen  lifted  their 
heavy  craft  over  a  beaver  dam  into  a  welcome  pond,  the 
grasshopper  would  have  seemed  a  burden  to  their  aching 
shoulders.  Only  some  forty-five  miles  by  linear  measure, 
this,  from  the  upper  edge  of  the  Great  Carrying- Place  ; 
but  in  time  and  effort,  in  fatigue,  hardship,  and  anxiety 
what  hundreds  of  leagues  ! 

The  troops  on  shore  had  thriven  little  better,  all  this 
while.  They  found  the  country  a  maze  of  hills  and 
swamps,  bog-holes  and  steeps,  ravines,  ledges,  rocks,  and 
ponds,  'a  direful,  howling  wilderness  not  describable,' 

1 3  Senter,  Journal,  Oct.  24.     Shadagee  Falls  are  in  this  part  of  the  river. 


568  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 


'a  dreary  aspect,  a  perpetual  silence,  an  universal  void,' 
as  two  of  the  army  tried  to  picture,  or  at  least  suggest,  it. 
At  numberless  places,  a  shower  of  crumbs,  brushed  long 
ago  from  the  rocky  lap  of  the  mountains,  filled  the  way 
with  a  mossy  avalanche  of  blocks.  Here  and  there  a  spur 
ran  down  to  the  very  edge  of  the  river,  breaking  off  in  a 
precipice  almost  impossible  to  get  by.  Serried  ranks  of 
fir,  spruce,  hackmatack,  and  hemlock  often  barred  the 
way.  Progress,  always  tedious,  was  seldom  without 
peril,  and  the  universal  frown  of  nature  was  constantly 
depressing  ;  but  at  last  the  foot- men  also  reached  the 
beaver  dam. 

Happily,  not  one  quiet  piece  of  water  merely,  but  a  fine 

series  of  ponds  gave  the  men  a 
respite  here.  These,  with  the 
connecting  streams,  reached 
some  twelve  miles  toward  the 
northwest,  and  extended  to  the 
very  foot  of  the  ultimate  ridge, 
the  'Height  of  Land,'  which 
separated  Canada  from  her 
neighbor  on  the  south. 

The  first  and  third  of  the 
series  were  the  longest  of  all. 
Around  them,  as  Arnold  noted, 
stood  '  a  chain  of  prodigious 
high  mountains,'  which  now 
snuffed  out  the  pale  wintry  sun 
not  long  after  midday  ;  and 
their  dark  waters  and  sombre 

recesses,  the  sky-climbing  tiers  of  primeval  pities — 
dotted  here  and  there  with  a  few  reckless  birches— on  their 
almost  vertical  shores,  the  dazzling  snows  above  them— 
gilded  for  a  moment  by  the  last  sunbeam— which  gave  a 
still  darker  hue  to  the  evergreen  foliage,  and  the  slight 


ONE    OF   THE   CHAIN    OF    PONDS 


A  Series  of  Ponds 


569 


veil  of  mist,  which  draped  the  wooded  islets  and  the 
heights  with  distance  and  mystery,— all  these  belittled  yet 
ennobled  the  frail  procession  of  bateaux  steering  slowly 
on  through  the  midst  of  this  grandeur.  For  the  first 
time  in  many  days,  the  men  could  now  enjoy  a  long 
breath, — a  refreshment  even  more  needed  for  the  coming 
trials  than  required  by  the  past.  And  indeed  toils  and 
perils  confronted  them  even  here.  The  streams  connect 
ing  the  ponds  were  shallow,  tortuous,  and  swift ;  the 
bateaux  had  to  be  carried  many  times  ;  Arnold,  over 
whelmed  by  a  driving  snowstorm,  found  himself  com 
pelled  to  go  ashore  repeatedly  to  bail  out  his  boats  ;  and 
Ogden,  lost  in  the  night,  discovered  a  refuge  only  by 
chance  at  the  surgeon's  camp-fire.14 

Beyond  these  first  lakes,  the  mountains  opened  for  a 
space,  and  here  the  leader  of  the  advance  met  a  rude 
shock.  Steele  had  certainly  gone  beyond  this  point  in 
some  direction  and 
even  crossed  the 
height  of  land.  One 
of  his  men,  climb 
ing  the  bare  trunk 
of  a  pine  for  some 
forty  feet  and  then 
pushing  up  through 
its  branches,  had 
followed  for  many 
miles  with  his  eye 
the  pale,  glistening 
thread  of  a  stream, 
and  even  descried 
Lake  Megantic  in  the  far  distance.15  But  where  was 
Steele's  path?  4  Our  guides  gone  forward  had  made 


HORSESHOE    POND 


!  4  The  region  about  Upper  Dead  River  and  the  ponds  is  still  a  wilderness. 
1 5  Heury,  Journal,  p.  55. 


570  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

no  marks  or  we  had  missed  them,'  said  Arnold.  A 
mistake  here  might  sentence  the  whole  body  to  a 
lingering  death ;  but  the  party  had  to  encamp  late 
at  night,  'much  fatigued  and  chilled  with  the  cold,' 
yet  still  quite  baffled  in  its  search. 

Happily,  no  mistake  was  made.  When  they  had  worked 
about  four  miles,  the  next  morning,  up  a  most  crooked, 
shallow,  rapid  creek,  often  blocked  with  'drift  Loggs,'  afew 
rods  of  portage  led  them  to  a  small  pond  hidden  in  a 
wooded  cup.  Carrying  the  boats  nearly  a  mile  along  a 
high  ridge  brought  them  next  to  a  butterfly  loch  half 
a  mile  across,  as  they  went.  Then  came  a  small,  round 
lakelet,  garnished  with  boulders  and  countless  lily-pads 
bleached  by  the  frost ;  and  finally  they  arrived  at  the  last 
of  the  series,  Arnold  Pond,  a  mammoth  dragon-fly  of 
glossy  green  pinned  to  the  earth  with  long  shadows  just 
below  the  Height  of  Land.  A  bold,  high  mountain  fronted 
them  here  on  the  north  ;  a  sea  of  Appalachian  summits 
piled  wave  on  wave  of  dark  forest  toward  the  south  and 
east ;  the  range  of  boundary  peaks  filled  the  west ;  and,  if 
a  horn  were  blown  or  a  shot  fired,  the  sound  would  ring 
and  circle,  echo  and  re-echo,  die  and  revive  around  the 
green  walls  of  the  lake,  until  the  ear  felt  really  haunted 
by  its  fugitive  sweetness.16 

But  the  Provincial  troops  thought  little  now  of  wood 
land  beauty  and  saw  no  charm  in  dark  waters.  Shadbws 
enough  lay  in  their  thoughts. 

'  The  most  ferocious  and  unnatural  heart  must  shudder,' 
explained  Captain  Thayer  in  his  Journal,  to  think  of 
'courageous  men  .  .  .  taking  up  some  raw  hides  that 
lay  for  several  Days  in  the  bottom  of  their  boats  intended 
for  to  make  them  shoes  or  moggosins  of  in  case  of  necessity, 
which  they  did  not  then  look  into  so  much  as  they  did  their 


i  6  REMARK  XXXVIII.     The  '  butterfly  loch  '  is  Horseshoe  Pond. 


Over  the  Height  of  Land 


•own  preservation,  and  chopping  them  to  pieces,  cinging 
first  the  hair  afterwards  boiling  them  and  living  on  the  juice 
or  liquid  that  they  soak'd 
from  it  for  a  considerable  time.' 
'Friday,  27th,'  Dr.  Senter 
jotted  down,  '  Our  bill  of  fare 
for  last  night  and  this  morning 
consisted  of  the  jawbone  of  a 
swine  destitute  of  any  cover 
ing.  This  we  boiled  in  a 
quantity  of  water,  that  with  a 
little  thickening  made  our 
su[m]ptuous  eating. '  To  that 
'  dismal  situation  '  some  of  the 
troops  had  already  been  re 
duced  ;  and  the  settlements  on 
the  Chaudiere,  believed  so 
near  ten  days  before,  were 
still  far  away. 

Yet  no  one  thought  of  giving  up.  Indeed,  they  could 
not  retreat  now  ;  and  the  army  set  forward  as  rapidly  as 
possible  on  the  twenty-third  and  longest  portage,  four 
miles  and  a  quarter  over  the  Height  of  Land.  For  once 
their  misfortunes  wore  the  look  of  blessings  :  they  had 
little  to  carry.  The  provisions  weighed  only  four  or  five 
pounds  per  man.  A  large  part  of  the  gunpowder  proved 
to  be  damaged,  and  was  thrown  away.  Tents  were  not 
worth  carrying :  better  the  face  of  Jove,  however  frown 
ing,  than  such  a  burden.  The  bateaux  had  broken  up, 
one  by  one,  until  but  few  remained.  Morgan  had  pre 
served  seven  and  decided  to  carry  them  across,  for  there 
was  no  other  way  to  transport  his  military  stores  down 
the  Chaudiere ;  but  resolution  of  such  a  temper  now 
transcended  the  power  of  mere  men.  An  attempt  was 
made  to  trail  the  bateaux  up  a  brook  that  entered  Arnold 


ARNOLD    POND 


SKETCH  HAP 

TO  ILLUSTRATE 

ARNOLD  6  ROUTE 

FROM 

DEAD  /?//£# 

TO 

MEG  A  NT  1C 


ONEHILE 


The  Rendezvous  in  the  Meadows         573 

Pond  ;  but  the  plan  had  to  be  given  up,  and  each  company, 
except  Morgan's,  took  only  a  single  boat  across. 

Even  in  this  light  order,  the  troops  were  hardly  able  to 
conquer  the  mountain.  A  trail  existed,  to  be  sure,  and 
Steele's  pioneers  had  bettered  it;  but  such  a  path  could 
not  be  called  a  highway,  except  in  altitude.  '  Rubbish  ' 
had  been  accumulating  here  ever  since  creation,  as  it 
seemed  to  Morison  ;  and  a  handful  of  tired,  starving  men 
could  not  remove  it  all  in  a  few  days.  Ten  acres  of  trees, 
blown  down  across  the  route,  had  to  be  left  there.  A 
swamp  half  a  mile  wide  could  not  be  plucked  up.  Rocks, 
dead  logs,  gorges,  and  precipices  had  to  be  stumbled 
over.  The  snow,  hiding  pitfalls  and  stones,  betrayed 
many  a  foot  into  a  wrench  and  a  bruise.  The  slightest 
accident  was  liable  to  mean  death.  (A  root,  a  twig, 
perhaps,  caught  the  buckle  of  my  shoe,'  wrote  Henry  of 
passing  this  place;  'tripped,  I  came  down  head  fore 
most,  unconscious  how  far,  but  perhaps  twenty  or  thirty 
feet.'  Those  who  carried  the  boats—and  no  doubt  all 
carried  in  turn— ran  the  greatest  danger,  for  bateaux  and 
carriers  often  fell  together,  pell-mell,  down  a  pitch.  The 
'Terrible  Carrying-place,'— that  was  the  soldiers'  name 
for  it. 

But,  blessed  be  God  !  it  was  all  over  on  Saturday, 
October  the  twenty-eighth.  Arnold  and  Hanchet  had 
now  put  a  considerable  space  between  themselves  and  the 
main  body  ;  but,  in  the  afternoon  of  that  day,  the  rest  of 
the  troops  found  themselves  beside  Seven  Mile  Stream,17 
two  leagues  due  south,  as  the  bee  flew,  from  Lake  Me- 
gantic;  and  again  they  took  a  long  breath,— longer  and 
sweeter  than  any  above  Fort  Western. 

The  spot  where  they  gathered  was  '  not  a  little  delight 
some, '  wrote  one  of  them.  There,  and  there  alone  in  the 


1 7  Now  called  Arnold  River. 


574  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

whole  region,  could  be  found  smooth  and  open  meadows. 
No  bristling  crags  were  about  them,  but  wide  fields, 
levelled  with  gently  dropping  silt  from  the  spring  floods  ; 
no  hard  rocks,  but  a  soil  that  yielded  softly  to  the  foot  like 
the  deepest  of  tapestries.  Nature  had  been  '  lavish '  of 
beauties  here,  said  Montresor,  and  he  pronounced  river 
and  intervale  '  mutual  ornaments.'  18  Ash-trees,  oaks,  and 


THE  HEIGHT  OF  LAND  NEAR  ARNOLD  POND 

groups  of  lordly  elms  took  the  place  of  dense,  gloomy 
evergreens,  and  '  fine  medow  joint  grass,  to  a  very  great 
growth,'  welcomed  aching  bodies  to  repose.  Hungry, 
tired,  gaunt  ?  Yes,  all  that ;  but  still  alive  and  still 
together,  and  the  spring  of  life  still  flowing. 

All  was  not  sunshine,  however.  The  retreat  of  the 
fourth  division  became  known  here  to  all  the  rest.  The 
news,  as  Dearborn  confided  to  his  Journal,  '  disheartened 
&  discouraged  our  men  very  much,  as  they  Carri'd  Back 
more  than  their  part  or  quota  of  Provision  &  Ammunition, 
&  our  Detachment,  before  being  but  Small  &  now  loosing 
these  three  Companies,  we  were  Small  indeed  to  think  of 
entering  such  a  place  as  QUEBEC.'  The  seceders  had 
found  roads  and  bush  huts  ready-made  for  them,  and  in 


18  Montresor,  Journal:  Me.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  I.,  p.  356  (July  19). 


An  Anxious  Outlook  575 

other  ways  profited  by  the  labor  and  experience  of  the 
main  body.  While  they,  for  their  part,  had  merely 
dreaded  famine,  all  the  rest  had  felt  it,  even  the  riflemen 
having  been  '  wholly  destitute  of  any  kind  of  meat  before 
this  for  eight  days,'  as  Ogden  noted;  and  these  facts 
added  greatly  to  the  '  manly  resentment  '  of  the  on-goers 
at  what  they  called  the  '  Cowardly,  dastardly  &  un 
friendly  Spirit'  of  the  fourth  division.  The  misfortune 
could  not  be  repaired,  however  ;  and,  with  a  soldier's 
hearty  curse  on  every  defaulter,  they  sternly  faced  the 
front. 

But  that  quarter,  also,  gave  rise  to  many  unpleasant 
thoughts.  What  lay  between  them  and  Quebec  ?  Ten  days 
back,  they  had  been  ordered  to  fill  their  powder-horns,  and 
an  attack  began  to  be  looked  for.  Indeed,  some  of  those 
who  arrived  first  at  the  meadows  discovered,  or  thought 
they  discovered,  a  thin  pillar  of  smoke  at  the  westward.  1S> 
Had  Arnold's  letters  gone  safely  through  ?  Was  Carleton, 
that  wary  old  soldier,  asleep  ?  Would  not  the  peasants 
resent  this  armed  invasion  ?  If  they  should,  some  dark 
passage  in  the  valley  below  might  easily  prove  the 
sepulchre  of  the  expedition.  And,  even  were  no  human 
foe  lurking  there,  might  it  not  prove  a  sepulchre  still? 
Only  too  well  the  power  of  the  Wilderness  was  now 
realized. 

It  was  certainly  a  grave  situation  ;  but  the  army  must 
advance,  and  that  quickly.  All  the  provisions  were 
gathered  into  a  common  fund  and  then  divided.  This 
furnished  each  man  with  four  or  five  pints  of  flour  and  a 
trifle  of  pork.  The  officers,  as  a  rule,  gave  their  share  of 
meat  to  the  men,  but  even  so  it  amounted  to  only  a  few 
ounces  apiece.20  This  meagre  stock,  with  possibly  a  scrap 


19  Senter,  Journal,  Oct.  28. 

20  Ogden  says  eight  ounces,  whereas  Senter  says  it  would  not  have  aver 
an  ounce  per  man.     Others  estimated  it  as  two  ounces. 


576  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

of  game  and  an  occasional  fish,  was  to  carry  tile  troops 
through  the  eighty  miles  or  more  of  hard  marching  to  the 
first  inhabitants.  But  the  ordeal  could  be  met  with  pa 
tience,  as  everything  else  had  been  ;  and  they  calmly  pre 
pared  to  move  on. 

About  four  o'clock,  a  great  shout  went  up  near  the 
Stream,  and  presently  it  ran  like  fire  through  the  whole 
encampment :  a  messenger  and  a  letter  had  come  from 
the  Colonel.21  News  had  arrived  from  below,  and  all  was 
well.  No  hostile  posts  guarded  the  route.  The  peasants 
would  receive  the  Provincials  as  friends.  Few  or  no  regu 
lars  occupied  Quebec,  and  the  city — wholly  unapprised  of 
it% danger — could  'be  easily  taken.'  The  western  army 
under  Montgomery  was  advancing,  and  had  already  killed 
or  wounded  some  five  hundred  of  the  regulars  at  or  near 
St.  Johns.22  .Arnold  himself  was  pressing  on,  and  would 
send  back  provisions  to  meet  the  troops. 

Instantly  an  awful  burden  fell  from  the  hearts  of  the 

poor  ragged  fellows 
under  the  elms. 
What  the  next  few 
days  had  in  store, 
it  was  beyond  their 
power  to  imagine. 
They  saw  their 
hopes,  not  their 
fears,  coming  true. 
The  splendid  goal 
of  their  sufferings 
appeared  already  in 

ARNOLD   RIVER   AND  THE   MEADOWS  sight.        No  doubt  it 

would   be    a    hard 


21  Arnold  to  officers,  Oct.  27,  1775:  Me.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  I.,  p.  367. 

22  Besides  the  Journals,  see  Arnold  to  Wash.,  Oct.  27,  1775:  Me.  Hist  Soc 
Coll.,  I.,  p.  366. 


Glad  News 

march;  but,  thank  God!  there  could  be  no  question 
about  the  route.  Lake  Megantic  lay  almost  in  sight, 
and  from  it  the  Chaudiere  flowed  to  Quebec.  It 
was  a  direct,  sure  road;  and  all  the  way  down  hill. 
Twenty  miles  a  day,  and  in  four  days  the  struggle 
would  be  over.  True,  they  had  little  to  eat,  but  relief 
would  soon  meet  them  ;  and,  until  then,  what  was  left  of 
muscle  and  flesh,  nerve,  marrow,  and  life,  would  continue 
to  honor  drafts. 

A  sunburst  of  joy  broke  forth  in  the  quiet  of  those  aston 
ished  meadows.  The  whole  wide  valley  rang  with  cheers  ; 
and  warm-hearted  Major  Meigs  harangued  the  soldiers  on 
the  glory  of  their  mission,  till  their  zeal  blazed  again  at 
furnace  heat.23 

23  Stocking,  Journal,  Oct.  28. 


VOL.   I. — 37. 


XX 

AT  THE  THRESHOLD  OF  DEATH 

A  RNOLD'S  letter  directed  his  army  to  avoid  the  river 
f\  and  march  along  the  high  ground  on  the  eastern 
side  of  the  valley  ;  but  one,  indeed  two,  portions  of  the 
force  did  not  follow  this  order.  Morgan  had  the  seven 
boats,  and  so  he  paddled  down  the  deep,  winding  Stream 
easily  and  happily  with  his  men,  well  enough  repaid  for 
its  tedious  meanderings  by  the  long  review  of  densely 
wooded  mountains  on  either  hand  ;  while  several  compa 
nies,  moving  before  the  letter  came,  took  the  obvious  route 
to  Lake  Megantic  along  the  bank  of  the  river,  and  soon 
exchanged  the  delightsome  meadows  for  clumps  and  then 
dense  thickets  of  alders,  willows,  and  many  nameless 
bushes,  broken  here  and  there  with  low  knolls  where 
pines  and  firs  towered  high,  and  with  swamps  or  pools 
deeply  edged  with  sere  grass. 1 

Against  this  course  the  leader's  warning  had  been  em 
phatic  ;  but,  had  he  fully  understood  the  lay  of  the  land, 
it  would  have  been  more  urgent  still.  In  a  word,  these 
weary  soldiers  journeying  down  the  river  were  bound  for 
a  miserable  trap. 

The  southern  end  of  the  lake  measured  two  miles  or  a 
little  more  in  width,  and  the  Stream,  flowing  almost  due 


i  For  information  about  the  authorities  (exclusively  first-hand)  for  this 
chapter,  refer  to  REMARK  XXXI.  See  also  Dearborn's  letter  to  Allen  :  Bush- 
nell,  Crumbs,  I.;  and  Ward's  letter:  Gammell,  Ward,  p.  339.  The  author 
studied  the  district  on  both  sides  of  Arnold  River  by  land  and  also  by  canoe. 

578 


A  Natural  Trap 


579 


north,  entered  it  somewhat  west  of  the  middle.  Still  far 
ther  to  the  west,  emptied  the  Annance  River  through  a 
great  swamp,  utterly  impassable.  The  other  side  was  lit 
tle  better.  Far  to  the  east,  Spider  River  took  its  rise  near 
the  Height  of  Land,  flowed  down  to  Spider  Lake,  then 
through  a  short  outlet  into  Rush  Lake,  and  finally,  turn 
ing  north,  entered  Lake  Megantic  half  a  mile  or  so  from 
Seven  Mile  Stream.  Just  after  leaving  Rush  Lake  it  re 
ceived  an  offshoot  from  the  Stream,  that  struck  across  like 
the  bar  of  an  H  ;  and,  from  a  point  near  this  junction,  the 
bar  sent  another  channel,  the  Dead  Arnold,  to  Lake  Me 
gantic.  It  was  a  maze  of  watercourses.2 

But  here  the  difficulty  only 
began.  The  end  of  the  valley 
or  beginning  of  the  lake,  where 
these  four  streams  emptied 
their  inky  tides,  was  the  pic 
ture  of  desolation.  Nothing 
could  have  been  more  doleful 
or  more  desperate.  Whether 
to  call  it  land  or  call  it  water 
one  could  hardly  say ;  and  in 
deed  it  was  neither,  but  an 
indescribable  expanse  of  wave- 
less  black  and  rusty  brown, 
varied  with  oozy  ground  and 
water-soaked  refuse,  the  sink 
of  storms  and  spring  floods, 
the  slimy  chaos  of  delta-build 
ing.  Swamp-grass  flourished  with  a  luxuriance  that 
hinted  of  a  loathsome  fertility.  Bubbles  of  tainted  gas  ex 
ploded  in  the  hectic  pools.  Scores  of  dead  trees,  the 
debris  of  the  highlands,  lay  rotting  here  and  there,  while 


NEAR   THE   MOUTH    OF   ARNOLD 
RIVER   IN   1903 


2  REMARK  XXXIX.     See  p.  572.     A  B  is  the  cross-bar. 


580  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

over  them  towered  lifeless  trunks  gradually  toppling  into 
the  same  horrible  grave  but  shrinking  back  with  uncanny 
gestures  of  despair.  It  was  death  in  life  and  life  in  death  ; 
the  morgue  of  the  wilderness  ;  the  lazaretto  of  blight  and 
decay.3 

Hanchet's  men  fell  promptly  into  the  trap  ;  but  Arnold 
helped  them  off  in  his  boats,  and  then,  supposing  that  his 
letter  would  save  the  rest,  went  on. 

Of  the  main  body,  Goodrich  came  first.  Ploughing  down 
for  several  miles  through  the  woods  and  thickets  and 
through  bogs  and  swamps  coated  with  ice,  his  men  waded 
the  cross-bar,  though  the  ground  gave  way  at  every  step, 
and  pressed  on  to  the  lake,  intending  to  follow  its  eastern 
shore.  But  this  proved  impossible,  for  the  Dead  Arnold 
stopped  them  ;  and,  when  Dearborn  arrived,  in  a  canoe 
that  he  had  discovered  in  the  woods,  he  found  Goodrich 
'  almost  perished  with  the  Cold,  having  Waded  Several 
Miles  Backwards  &  forwards,  Sometimes  to  his  Arm-pits 
in  Water  &  Ice,  endeavoring  to  find  some  place  to  Cross 
this  River.' 

Goodrich' s  bateau  had  pulled  ahead  with  all  the  flour 
of  the  company,  for  no  such  difficulty  had  been  expected  ; 
so  Dearborn,  taking  in  his  fellow-officer,  went  in  pursuit  of 
it.  But  the  bateau  had  gone  too  far  to  be  overtaken  ;  and, 
before  the  Captains  could  return,  darkness  came  on,  and 
they  found  it  necessary  to  camp  on  the  shore  of  the  lake, 
'  very  uneasy  all  Night '  about  their  men. 

And  there  was  reason  enough  for  their  uneasiness. 
The  poor  fellows,  exhausted  by  the  terrible  march,  had 
only  a  swamp  for  their  bed  and  a  freezing  bog  for  their 
hearth.  One  man  fainted  from  exhaustion  and  the 
cold.  But  as  usual  they  made  the  best  of  their  case. 

3  This  description  is  based  upon  the  Journals  and  the  present  condition  of 
the  place,  carefully  studied  with  reference  to  the  changes  likely  to  have  oc 
curred  since  1775.  (This  remark  applies  to  all  the  descriptions. )  The  deposits 
of  a  century  and  a  quarter  have  probably  raised  the  earth  about  as  much  as 
the  dam  in  the  Chaudiere  has  raised  the  water.  Except  Seven  Mile  Stream, 
all  the  names  are  recent. 


In  the  Trap  581 

Wading  about  in  the  water,  they  got  firewood,  and  some 
how  made  it  blaze.  Then,  eating  '  a  mouthful  of  pork,' 
they  lay  down  to  sleep, — Dearborn's  men  on  a  low 
hillock,  with  their  heads  so  close  to  the  water  all  round 
that  a  heavy  rain  would  have  drowned  them  out. 
The  next  forenoon,  Smith  and  Ward  came  down  with 
one  bateau  apiece,  and  at  length,  after  all  this  exposure 
and  extreme  fatigue,  the  soldiers  were  ferried  across  the 
two  rivers  to  solid  ground.  A  day  and  a  half  of  priceless 
time  had  been  lost,  and  a  great  part  of  their  scanty 
strength  wasted,  in  that  wretched  mire-hole.  A  '  direct, 
sure  road,'  indeed! 

The  rest  of  the  troops,  retiring  from  the  meadows  to 
the  high  ground,  set  out  the  next  morning  on  a  course 
just  east  of  north,  and  at  first  succeeded  well  ;  but  after  a 
while,  misled  possibly  by  a  small  stream  that  seemed  to 
be  flowing  toward  Lake  Megantic,  they  bore  a  little  to 
the  left,  and  soon  found  themselves  in  the  '  ocean  of 
swamp  '  just  south  of  Rush  Lake, — '  the  most  execrable 
bogmire,  impenitrable  Pluxus  of  shrubs,  imaginable,'  as 
Dr.  Senter  described  it.  A  thick  growth  of  low  cedars, 
hackmatacks,  and  spruces,  mixed  with  alders,  choked  the 
swamp  ;  and  the  slippery  roots,  hidden  under  a  green 
moss  full  of  ice  and  water,  threatened  every  moment  a 
sprain  or  a  dislocation.  To  be  disabled  there  meant  a 
slow,  sure  death,  as  all  understood  full  well  ;  but  after 
a  little  time  ankles  and  feet  were  so  benumbed  by  the  cold 
that,  in  spite  of  caution,  it  was  impossible  to  avoid  falling. 

At  length,  working  painfully  toward  the  east,  the 
party  came  to  the  outlet  of  Spider  Lake.  A  single  word 
was  all  they  needed  then.  Had  they  but  crossed  this 
little  stream  and  pushed  boldly  toward  the  northwest, 
they  would  have  caught  the  broad,  crinkly  gleam  of  Lake 
Megantic  after  half  an  hour  of  comfortable  walking.  But 
the  guide  sent  them  by  Arnold  was  not  well  posted,  and 


582 


Lost  in  the  Wilds  583 

Greene,  who  led  the  march  with  a  compass,  had  no  clue 
except  Montresor's  map,  here  fatally  defective.  He  dared 
not  leave  the  water,  for  he  naturally  thought  the  water 
could  be  depended  upon  to  bring  them  somewhere ;  and 
so  they  kept  on  '  over  a  continual  succession  of  ridges 
and  mountains,  interspersed  with  morasses,'  vainly  fol 
lowing  the  wavy  shore  of  Spider  Lake  in  and  out,  in  and 
out ;  for  no  spider  has  more  legs  than  this  lake  has  bays. 

At  night,  officers  and  men  alike  felt  thoroughly  ex 
hausted  and  absolutely  lost.  Where  they  were,  where 
the  rest  were,  where  Lake  Megantic  or  the  Chau- 
diere  River  could  be  found,  nobody  had  the  faintest  idea, 
— no  more,  one  of  them  expressed  it,  than  if  they  had 
been  roaming  *  in  the  unknown  interiors  of  Africa,  or 
the  deserts  of  Arabia. '  Scraping  the  snow  away,  they 
built  fires,  shivering  with  cold  from  head  to  foot,  and 
almost  fainting  before  the  tardy  heat  of  the  blaze  began 
to  warm  them.  Somebody  was  lucky  enough  to  kill  a 
partridge,  and  a  little  soup  was  made  of  it ;  but  this  was 
only  a  drop.  Bach  man  took  a  gill  of  flour,  stirred  it  up 
with  water,  and  served  himself  with  unsalted  gruel  or 
shoemaker's  paste,  according  to  his  preference ;  or  per 
haps  he  mixed  it  rather  stiff,  and  warmed  it  on  the  coals 
or  the  ashes, — though  not  much,  lest  a  little  should  burn. 

After  that,  all  lay  down  on  the  ground,  with  only  the 
sky  above  their  heads.  Bears  were  plentiful,  for  their 
tracks  were  on  the  snow.  Wolves,  too,  abounded,  for 
their  blood-curdling  howls  resounded  from  hill  to  hill. 
What  was  that, — wind  ?  Or  was  it  the  distant  war- 
whoop  of  savages,  falling  upon  some  other  fraction  of  the 
army  ?  Nobody  could  be  sure ;  but  every  man  of  them 
knew  that  unless  the  next  day  should  bring  them  out 
somewhere,  they  might  as  well  give  up. 

On  the  morrow,  Monday,  they  were  afoot  as  soon  as  light 
appeared.  '  Cooking  being  very  much  out  of  fashion,'  as 


From         ^ 
ontnlsotfs 
1761 . 


Lost  in  the  Wilds  585 

the  surgeon  remarked,  they  were  quickly  off,  many  nib 
bling  their  breakfast  cakes  as  they  marched.  No  military 
order  had  been  required  the  day  before,  and  they  still  went 
on  in  a  rambling  Indian  file.  Before  long,  Spider  River 
stopped  their  advance.  At  first,  they  thought  it  possible 
to  go  round  the  lagoon-like  stream,  and  steered  more  to 
the  south  for  that  purpose  ;  but  after  a  time  it  seemed  a 
hopeless  errand,  and  they  looked  for  a  ford.  About  three 
miles  from  the  lake,  probably,  a  crossing-place  was  lighted 
upon,  and  through  the  water — here  some  four  feet  deep — 
they  had  to  wade,  breaking  the  ice  on  each  side  of  the 
river. 

Then  the  dreary  march  began  again,  through  a  region 
that  seemed  to  Captain  Topham  '  made  only  for  an  asylum 
for  wild  beasts.' 

Here  a  far-reaching  pile  of  blown-down  hemlocks  barred 
the  way  with  a  thousand  branches  as  stiff  and  almost  as 
sharp  as  spears  :  to  go  round  meant  a  weary  tramp,  to  go 
through  meant  a  battle.  Often  young  firs  were  planted 
across  the  way  like  a  palisade,  their  lower  branches  dead 
and  set.  Often  a  dense  growth  of  low  bushes  hid  the 
ground,  and  any  step  might  mean  the  fatal  sprain.  Here 
and  there,  a  leg  suddenly  went  down  between  the  roots  of 
a  tree,  and  only  good  luck  saved  the  man  from  a  broken 
bone  ;  or  a  rotten  log  that  seemed  firm  snapped  under  his 
weight  and  hurled  him  twenty  feet  down  into  the  chasm 
that  it  bridged,  while  his  gun  flew  as  it  listed,  burying 
itself  in  a  bog  or  a  snow  bank.  Now  and  then  he  came  to 
a  deep,  oozy  swamp  where  he  could  escape  miring  only,  if 
at  all,  by  rushing  across  it  with  all  his  might.  Spruce 
twigs  springing  back  into  his  eyes  like  steel  wires  ;  twisted 
roots  catching  his  ankle  under  the  leaves  ;  moss-grown 
rocks  bringing  him  to  the  ground, — these  were  lesser  yet 
serious  ills. 

All  round  him  spread  the  vastness  of  the  forest,  cutting 


586  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

off  his  vision  and  shutting  him  in  ;  dumb  to  every  question, 
fatal  to  every  hope,  elusive  as  mist,  yielding  only  as  sand 
yields  to  the  bullet,  passive  but  invincible,  unknown  and 
therefore  boundless,  quenching  courage  with  that  blind 
hopelessness  and  impotence  that  often  turn  brave  men  into 
whimpering  children,  when  they  realize  they  are  lost  in 
the  bush  ;  and  on  through  all  this  :  over  hill  and  moun 
tain  ;  through  chasm  and  swamp  ;  now  up,  now  down  ; 
dodging,  leaping,  stumbling,  climbing,  crawling ;  slipping 
on  wet  sticks,  catching  vainly  at  bushes,  tripping  and 
pitching  one  against  another  ;  torn,  bruised,  and  breath 
less, — on  went  the  straggling  wanderers  through  the 
'hideous  swamps  and  mountanious  precipices,'  some  in 
hope,  some  in  despair,  but  all  in  deadly  fear  of  falling  by 
the  way  and  perishing  miserably  and  alone  among  the 
bears  and  wolves.  The  '  pilot '  had  long  felt  thoroughly 
frightened,  and  nobod}7 — except  perhaps  one  young  Indian 
— pretended  to  have  an  idea. 

At  length,  '  just  as  the  sun  was  departing, '  the  end  came. 
The  leaders  halted,  and  looked  earnestly  at  the  ground. 
IyO,  there  were  tracks  in  the  snow, — human  tracks.  A 
thrill  went  through  every  heart.  They  were  the  footsteps 
of  the  companies  that  had  marched  down  by  the  Seven  Mile 
Stream  :  men  as  hungry,  as  feeble  as  themselves,  perhaps 
as  far  astray,  but  yet  men  and  comrades  ;  and  yonder,  in  its 
rim  of  mild  slopes  crowned  with  the  dull  brightness  of  a 
wintry  sunset,  lay  the  placid  waters  of  L,ake  Megantic,  dark 
ened  here  and  there  with  the  ripples  of  a  fretful  cat's-paw. 
'Three  huzzas  '  burst  from  the  troops  ;  and  then,  thinking 
of  the  terrible  journey  they  had  made,  they  shuddered. 

Meantime,  Arnold  and  Hanchet  had  reached  the  Chau- 
diere  River  and  pushed  on  for  the  settlements.  Hanchet 
marched  by  the  shore  ;  but  Arnold,  with  a  birch  canoe, 
four  bateaux,  Oswald,  Steele,  Church,  and  thirteen  men, 
undertook  to  descend  the  river. 


Arnold  Goes  down  the  Chaudiere         587 


A  bold  choice  was  that,  and  the  voyage  extraordinary. 
Tedium,  at  least,  could  not  be  charged  against  it,  for  some 
thing  happened  at  almost  every  moment.    Here  and  there 
a  brace  of  deer,  with  palpitating  ears  and  staring  eyes, 
faced  the  strange  flotilla  tremblingly  till  it  was  almost 
upon  them,  and  then  hurried  with  great  leaps  and  fright 
ened  snortings  into  the  depths  of  the  forest.    At  every  turn, 
wild  duck  whirred  noisily  into  the  air  and  put  off  down 
stream,  each,  as  it  receded,  shrinking  gradually  into  a  pair 
of  flickering  white 
spots   on   the   sky.      $%r- 
The  massive  forests 
of    evergreens     on 
each   side  crowded 
close  to    the  shore 
and  leaned  far  out 
above   the    stream, 
pinching  hard   the 
narrow  line  of  blue 
overhead ;    and    at 
many  points  fallen 
trees,   bristling 
with   the   stubs   of 

branches,  lay  in  wait  for  the  boats  just  above  or  just 
below  the  surface  of  the  water.  '  Chaudiere,'  as  the  trav 
ellers  now  understood,  meant  '  caldron '  ;  and  the  stream,  a 
short  one  with  the  fifth  part  of  a  mile  to  drop,  hurried  like 
hours  of  bliss. 

Worse  yet,  the  rocks  —  in  Melvin's  phrase  —  '  stood  up 
all  over  the  river'  in  places  neither  few  nor  far  between, 
and  the  falls  were  hardly  to  be  numbered.  Arnold  could 
not  quite  exclaim,  like  the  Psalmist :  '  Deep  calleth  unto 
deep,'  for  the  Chaudiere  was  generally  shallow  ;  but 
scarcely  had  the  little  fleet  escaped  from  the  foam  and 
babel  of  one  series  of  rapids,  when  the  hoarse  murmur  of 


WHERE  THE   CHAUDIERE   LEAVES 
LAKE    MEGANTIC 


588  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

another  saluted  them  from  below.  Fast  and  faster,  the 
murmur  swelled  to  a  roar  ;  many  a  white  tongue  could  be 
seen  frantically  lapping  the  air ;  and  in  a  few  moments 
the  boats,  gliding  every  instant  more  swiftly,  rushed  on 
into  the  voracious  tumult  of  boiling,  spurting  waters, 
to  be  tossed,  whirled,  buffeted,  flooded,  and  cut. 

By  the  law  of  nature,  death  should  have  been  the  fate 
of  Arnold's  party,  for  what  could  they  expect  with  their 
unwieldy  bateaux  and  untrained  oars,  where  the  quickest 
of  canoes  and  the  most  cunning  of  paddles  could  barely 
have  got  them  through  in  safety  ?  And  death  was  what 
they  dared  when  they  lashed  their  baggage  to  the  boats, 
and  pushed  off  into  the  caldron. 

Good  fortune  alone  saved  them :  they  were  lucky 
enough— to  be  wrecked.  About  fifteen  miles  from  Lake 
Megantic,  'we  had  the  misfortune  to  overset,'  wrote 
Arnold,  '  &  stave  3  Boats — lost  all  the  Baggage,  Arms, 
&  Provision  of  four  men,  &  stove  two  of  the  Boats 
against  the  rocks.  But  happily  no  lives  were  lost,  altho' 
6  men  were  a  long  time  swimming  in  the  water,  &  were 
with  difficulty  saved.  This  misfortune,  tho'  unfortunate 
at  first  view,  we  must  think  a  very  happy  circumstance  to 
the  whole,  &  kind  interposition  of  Providence,  for  no 
sooner  were  the  men  dry  &  we  embarked  to  proceed,  but 
one  of  the  men  who  was  forward  cried  out  a  fall  ahead 
which  we  had  never  been  apprised  of,  &  had  we  been 
carried  over,  must  inevitably  have  been  dashed  to  pieces 
&  all  lost.'4 

Would  it  have  cheered  Arnold  to  know  that  his  friend 
Mercier  of  Quebec,  as  he  was  going  to  the  Upper  Town 
that  day,  had  been  seized  by  the  Town  Sergeant,  con- 

4  The  Journals  did  not  exaggerate  the  dangers  of  the  Chaudiere.  The 
author  ran  all  the  rapids  from  L,ake  Megantic  to  St.  Francis  except  the  im 
passable  falls  at  Grand  Sault,  but  found  it  necessary  to  get  a  canoe-man  from 
Maine,  as  none  of  the  many  guides  about  I^ake  Megantic  would  run  the  risk  ; 
and,  from  their  accounts,  it  would  appear  that  no  one  had  succeeded  in  doing 
the  same. 


New  Misfortunes 


589 


ducted  to  the  main  guard,  and  shut  up  ;  and  all  this 
because  a  certain  letter  had  reached  the  lieutenant- 
Governor  instead  of  Mercier  ?  Had  he  known  that — but 
he  did  not  know  it ;  and,  keeping  on  more  cautiously 
than  at  first,  though  he  smashed  the  canoe  in  spite  of  all 
his  care,  he  reached  the  first  settlement  as  the  dusk  of  his 
third  day  on  the  river  deepened  into  starlight  (Monday, 
October  30).  '  Making  all  allowances,'  the  Commander- 
in-chief  thought  of  him  that  night  as  lying  with  his  brave 
followers  before  Quebec,  if  not  already  within  the  walls  ; 
and  it  was  little  consolation  for  Arnold  to  reflect  that, 
with  fewer  mischances,  he  might  have  been  there.5 

In  total  ignorance  of  the  Colonel's  mishaps,  his  faith 
ful  soldiers  looked  still  to  the  Chaudiere  as  the  path  of 
hope  ;  yes,  of  certainty.     Even 
hostile  nature  could  not  stop 
the   river   nor   make  it  climb 
the  mountains  ;  and  they  could 
not  lose  their  way  again,  for 
the     river    went    where   they 
wished  to  go. 

Goodrich' s  men,  famishing, 
hurried  on  from  the  swamp  to 
overtake  their  bateau.  They 
did  not  reach  it ;  but,  '  coming 
to  a  small  creek,  they  found 
an  advertisement  set  up,  in 
forming  them  that  their  bateau 
was  stove  and  the  flour  lost, 
and  the  men  writh  difficulty 
having  saved  their  lives.  This 

was  melancholy  news  to  them,  having  eaten  scarcely 
any  thing  for  several  days,  and  having  waded  through 


ON    THE    UPPER    CHAUDIERE 


5  Wash,  to  Hancock,  Oct.  12,  1775:  4  Force,  III.,  1037. 


590  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

ice  and  water,  and  were  a  great  way  from  any 
inhabitants,  and  knew  not  how  far  it  was.  They 
agreed  to  part,  and  the  heartiest  to  push  forward  as  fast 
as  they  could  ' :  in  these  words  Melvin  recorded  their  mis 
fortune.  Some  of  them  killed  a  Newfoundland  dog  of 
Dearborn's,  ate  his  flesh,  and  then  pounded  up  his  bones 
for  a  soup.  What  else  they  had  the  next  few  days, 
Heaven  only  recorded.  Another  party  also  killed  a  dog, 
and  perhaps  a  scrap  of  it  fell  to  them. 

Captain  Smith  was  wrecked,  and  lost  everything  but 
life.  Morgan's  boats— those  precious  boats  that  had  worn 
the  men's  shoulders  not  merely  to  the  blood,  but  to  the 
bone— were  all  smashed,  the  supplies  and  ammunition 
lost,  the  soldiers,  though  not  all  of  them,  barely  saved  ; 
and  Morgan  and  his  company,  gathering  wet  and  ex 
hausted  around  a  fire  on  the  shore,  found  themselves 
with  scarcely  a  mouthful  of  food,  and  had  not  even  a 
dog  to  kill. 

By  the  same  fire  lay  McClellan,  the  beloved  lieutenant 
of  Hendricks'  s  company ,  mortally  ill  of  pneumonia .  Very 
gently  he  had  been  carried  over  the  portages,  one  after 
another,  even  the  Terrible  Carrying-place,  and  he  was  to 
have  been  taken  down  the  Chaudiere  ;  but  here  the  bateau 
had  been  stove,  and  its  passenger  just  rescued  from  the 
rapids.  Dr.  Senter  did  what  was  possible;  but  his  'medicine 
box'  had  sunk  in  the  torrent.  Surrounded  with  scraps 
of  wreckage  and  haggard,  tattered,  shivering  castaways, 
and  already  too  feeble  to  speak,  McClellan  lay  evidently 
at  death's  door. 

What  could  have  been  more  pitiful  than  such  a  scene  ? 
Nay,  what  could  have  been  more  glorious?  for,  though 
orders  had  been  given  every  one  to  think  only  of  himself, 
men  came  and  shared  with  a  dying  comrade  the  food 
they  needed  to  keep  themselves  alive,  and  gave  him  the 
minutes  that  meant  life  or  death  to  them,  bending  to 


A  Soul-Killing  March  591 

catch  the  hoarsely  whispered  '  Farewell ! '  and  shedding 
tears  over  another's  misfortune  when  hanging  on  the 
very  brink  of  ruin  themselves.  '  Here  we  parted  with 
him  in  great  tenderness,'  wrote  a  plain  soldier  of  the 
rank  and  file,  with  the  unconscious  eloquence  of  the 
heart. 

The  march  along  the  shore,  though  less  perilous  than 
boating,  was  perhaps  fatiguing  enough  and  slow  enough 
to  make  up.  Some  sort  of  a  trail  probably  existed  ;  but  it 
signified  so  little  that  Henry  declared  they  had  no  path  at 
all.  The  cedar,  spruce,  and  hemlock,  mixed  with  bram 
bles  and  small  fir  shrubbery,  stood  'intolerable  plenty, 
almost  impenitrably  so  in  many  places,'  noted  the  sur 
geon.  For  a  while,  the  men  would  have  to  scramble  up 
a  steep  ascent,  '  climeing  on  all  fours '  ;  and  next  they 
tumbled  into  the  mire  of  a  dusky  glen,  full  of  the  dank 
odors  of  corruption,  where  the  liverwort  opened  its  eyes  in 
July  supposing  it  was  May. 

Here  and  there,  a  hole  in  soft,  unfrozen  earth  showed 
where  a  startled  buck  had  gathered  his  feet,  and  thrown 
himself  among  the  bushes  like  the  shot  hurled  by  an 
athlete  ;  and  yonder  a  group  of  skeletons  told  how  a 
wolf  had  broken  through  the  snow,  a  winter  or  two  be 
fore,  into  a  deer-yard,  and  slaughtered  as  many  as  he 
could  reach  for  the  mere  delight  of  killing.  On  and  on 
serpentined  the  trail,  worn  gradually  into  a  path,  sidling 
past  huge  boulders,  threading  gorges  where  a  chilly  wind 
sobbed  in  and  out,  scrambling  over  headlands  where 
needles  of  frost  probed  for  the  very  marrow, — onward  and 
onward  writhing,  and  still  onward,  bleak,  soul-wearying, 
melancholy,  and  almost  hopeless. 

November  the  first  dawned  upon  a  famishing  army. 
Some  still  had  food,  many  had  already  been  destitute  for 
a  day  or  more,  and  not  a  few,  determined  to  have  a  full 
meal  for  once,  had  eaten  almost  immediately  the  share 


592   Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

given  out  in  the  meadows,  trusting  that  relief  was  already 
near  at  hand.  'November  ist,  Wednesday,'  scribbled 
Haskell  in  his  diary,  '  Set  out  weak  and  faint,  having 
nothing  at  all  to  eat :  the  ground  covered  with  snow.' 

A  kind  of  wrathful  despair  began  to  seize  the  troops. 
Were  they  to  be  defeated,  after  all?  Impossible  !  Like 
the  Old  Guard  at  Waterloo,  they  felt  a  sort  of  rage  gath 
ering  inside  them — a  still,  dumb,  savage  fury,  the  root- 
instinct  of  man's  will  to  live  and  to  conquer.  Humanity 
stripped  bare  is  terrible ;  yes,  but  it  is  also  magnificent. 
Some  men  eating  dog-meat  offered  Thayer  and  Topham 
a  portion,  but  they  declined  it,  'thinking  that  they  were 
more  in  want  of  it  than  what  we  were  at  that  time.' 

November  the  second  found  the  troops  one  day  nearer 
starvation,  'having  been  upon  a  very  short  allowance  for 
sixteen  days, '  remarked  Haskell.  '  It  is  an  astonishing 
thing, '  noted  Humphrey,  '  to  see  almost  every  man  with 
out  any  sustenance  but  cold  water.'  'I  have  now  been 
48  hours  without  victuals,'  wrote  Captain  Topham. 

Melvin  shot  a  squirrel  and  a  little  bird,  and  possibly 
some  others  were  equally  fortunate  ;  but  no  one  mentioned 
it.  All  the  candles  had  been  used  up  long  ago  to  enrich 
the  gruel,  and  now  the  scraps  of  shaving-soap,  lip-salve, 
and  pomatum  were  devoured.  A  dried  squirrel-skin,  dis 
covered  in  a  pocket,  made  a  meal.  Cartridge-pouches, 
belts,  and  even  shoes  were  chewed.  '  Old  moose-hide 
breeches  were  boiled  and  then  broiled  on  the  coals  and 
eaten,'  attested  Captain  Dearborn.6  A  barber's  powder- 
bag  furnished  a  little  soup.  Even  such  cookery  as  this 
became  difficult,  for  the  hatchets  had  been  dropped,  and 
no  camp  utensils  were  now  carried  except  '  a  small,  light 
tin  kettle  among  a  number.'  Some  of  the  soldiers  knew 
of  edible  roots  that  could  be  found  in  the  sandy  beaches 


6  Letter  to  Allen  :  Note 


On  the  Verge  of  Starvation  595 

of  the  river  ;  behind  each  of  the  knowing  ones  followed  a 
party,  and  as  he  sprang  to  dig  at  a  root  with  his  fingers, 
they  sprang  too,  and  whoever  secured  the  prize  devoured 
it  instantly.  More  than  one  man  looked  at  his  firelock, 
thought  longingly  of  the  death  it  offered,  and  said  to 
himself,  Shall  I  ? 

When  the  soldiers  rose,  November  the  third,  they  stag 
gered  about  like  '  drunken  men  ' ;  but  after  a  little,  aiding 
themselves  with  their  guns,  they  got  their  footing  arid  set 
out  again.  Hour  after  hour  they  marched,  and  still  they 
found  only  the  same  interminable  ups  and  downs,  ins  and 
outs.  Though  in  reality  but  a  few  hundred  feet  high, 
the  bluffs  looked  like  Alps, — '  huge  mountains  '  ;  and,  in 
a  ragged  single  file, — now  drawn  out  for  many  miles, — they 
struggled  up  the  sharp  slopes,  to  tumble,  one  upon  another, 
down  the  farther  side,  while  the  pale  sun  rose,  looked 
at  them  like  the  priest  and  the  Levite,  and  went  his 
way. 

Nothing  could  be  discovered  to  cheer  the  spirits  in  the 
killing  monotony  of  the  surroundings.  Occasionally  the 
river  could  be  seen,  here  blotched  and  yonder  quite  frosted 
over  with  foam  ;  but,  a  little  farther  on,  the  bluffs  appeared 
to  throttle,  choke,  silence,  and  kill  it.  '  '  Every  object 
tended  to  dismay  the  heart,'  said  Morison.  Even  sleep 
had  now  lost  its  power  to  knit  up  the  ravelled  sleeve. 
Heads  grew  light.  It  began  to  seem  unreal,  uncanny. 
Men  gazed  weirdly  one  at  another.  Were  they  really 
more  than  human,  then,  that  they  could  march,  march, 
day  after  day,  and  eat  nothing,  like  the  angels?  No, 
they  were  not  angels ;  a  small  stick  across  the  path  was 
enough  to  bring  the  stoutest  of  them  to  the  ground. 

And  now  came  the  most  dreadful  thing  of  all.  Men 
fell  and  could  not  rise.  Lying  or  sitting  on  the  ground, 
with  all  their  remnant  of  life  in  their  '  wishfull '  eyes, 
they  mutely  sought  aid  of  each  passer-by  in  turn.  Fellow- 


596  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

soldier,  comrade,  friend,  help   me  !   pleaded  their  '  pity- 
asking  countenances.' 

But  a  halt  could  only  add  other  victims.  The  time 
had  come  when  some  must  be  left  behind.  With  hearts 
ready  to  burst,  men  '  stopped  their  ears. '  Tattered  and 
torn,  many  barefooted,  many  bareheaded,  pallid,  sunken, 
staggering,  'drowned  in  sorrow,'  those  who  could  march 


CHAUDIERE    RAPIDS 

marched  on,  their  heads  bent,  their  eyes  half-closed,  their 
brains  in  a  dizzy  stupor,  just  able  to  wonder  how  soon 
their  own  inevitable  fall — the  last  fall — would  come.  Yet 
by  minutes  and  by  seconds  they  still  lived  on.  By  rods, 
by  yards,  by  feet,  they  struggled  ahead  :  nothing  save  the 
very  core  of  existence  left,  but  that  invincible.  Till  the 
sky  turn  black  or  the  feet  strike  root,  on,  on,  on  ! 


Rescue 


597 


'  Provisions  !  Provisions  in  sight  ! '  Men  stopped  and 
looked  at  one  another,  dazed.  Was  there  a  noise  ?  What 
could  it  be  ? 

'  Provisions  in  sight ! '     They  stared  ahead,  and  saw 

coming  around  the  next  bend  of  the  shore — so  it  seemed 

a  vision  of  horned  cattle  and  horses,  driven  and  ridden  by 
creatures  like  themselves.  The  vision  approached.  It 
was  not  a  vision.  It  was  real. 

Dearborn  wept ;  Thayer  wept ;  Topham  wept ;  many 
more  wept.  Many  thanked  God.  Some,  now  the  strain 
was  over,  swooned  and  fell. 

But  there  were  comrades  to  think  of,  and  soon  the  same 
shout  was  heard  again,  passing  on  toward  the  rear  :  '  Pro 
visions  !  Provisions  in  sight!'  On  every  hilltop  and 
bluff,  where  the  troops  were  toiling  along,  the  cry  was 
taken  up  :  '  Provisions  !  Provisions  in  sight ! '  The 
stronger  stood  and  shouted ;  the  weaker  looked  on  and 
listened,  their  eyes  raised  to  heaven,  tears  coursing  their 
cheeks,  their  hearts  overflowing  with  brotherly  love  ;  and 
the  tale  of  cheer,  of  rescue,  of  life— thrilling  with  all  their 
thankfulness,  their  tears,  and  their  love— sped  on,  joyous 
as  the  beacon-light  of  a  victory,  up  and  down  the  hill 
sides,  in  and  out  of  the  river-bends,  through  the  woods, 
over  the  gorges,  across  the  morasses,  mile  after  mile,  hour 
after  hour,  nerving  the  feeble,  rousing  the  prostrate,  guid 
ing  the  lost,  and  lighting  up  that  vast,  awful  solitude  and 
silence  with  gladness  and  with  glory.  The  battle  with 
the  wilderness  had  ended ;  and  the  end  was  a  triumph  ! 

It  was  indeed  an  awful  gulf  that  had  yawned  before  the 
Provincials,  and  only  the  narrowest  of  planks  bridged  it. 
Famine  had  not  been  the  only  foe  to  dread.  The  Mo 
hawks  that  Natanis  boasted  of  existed  only  on  his  tongue, 
perhaps  ;  but  savages  there  were  at  the  upper  settlements 
on  the  Chaudiere,  and  a  British  guard  there  had  been. 
The  regulars,  even  though  few,  could  have  induced  or 


598  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

compelled  a  certain  number  of  the  Canadians  and  Indians 
to  take  up  arms  against  the  invaders  ;  ambushes  could 
have  been  set,  and  the  destruction  or  capture  of  Arnold's 
detachment  in  its  perishing  condition  would  have  been 
certain.  As  Lieutenant  Lindsay  of  the  British  army  de 
clared,  the  Canadians  might  easily  have  conquered  '  with 
no  other  arms  than  pitchforks.'  7  In  fact,  they  could 
have  destroyed  the  Americans  by  simply  retiring  down 
the  river  with  their  provisions  and  cattle.  But  every 
British  soldier  was  needed  to  oppose  Montgomery.  About 
the  time  Arnold  left  Cambridge,  the  post  on  the  Chaudiere 
marched  away,  and  so  not  even  a  nucleus  of  opposition 
remained.8 

The  inducements  came  now  from  the  other  side,  and 
they  were  not  feeble.  On  reaching  the  first  settlement, 
about  four  miles  below  the  mouth  of  the  Du  Loup  River, 
Arnold  instantly  set  afloat  Washington's  printed  manifesto 


•4 
FROM  CAPTAIN  TOPHAM'S  JOURNAL 

addressed  to  the  Canadians.9  In  brotherly  phrases,  the 
Commander-in-chief  cast  the  spell  of  Liberty,  and  gave 
his  personal  pledge  for  the  security  of  life  and  property. 
The  pious  habitants  were  assured  that  their  neighbors  on 
the  south  had  '  appealed  to  that  Being,  in  whose  hands 
are  all  human  events,'  and  that  the  arm  of  tyranny  had 
already  been  '  arrested  in  its  ravages. '  The  British  gov- 


'  Canad.  Rev.,  II.,  No.  4,  Feb.,  1826. 

8  For    this  post    see    Chap.    XVII.,    Note  Q  ;    Ainslie,   Journal   (Introd.);* 
Journal  of  the  Most  Remark.  Occurr.;  Quebec  Gazette,  Sept.  14,  1775. 

9  Writings  (Ford),  III.,  p.  126. 


Washington's  Appeal  to  the  People      599 

ernment  had  found  itself  mistaken  in  supposing  '  that 
gratifying  the  vanity  of  a  little  circle  of  nobility  would 
blind  the  people  of  Canada, '  and  that  only  '  a  poverty  of 
soul  and  baseness  of  spirit '  existed  among  them. 

'  Come  then,  my  brethren,'  invited  Washington,  'unite 
with  us  in  an  indissoluble  union,  let  us  run  together  to 
the  same  goal.  We  have  taken  up  arms  in  defence  of  our 
liberty,  our  property,  our  wives,  and  our  children.'  Ar 
nold's  dash,  self-confidence,  and  plausibility  supported 
the  address  admirably  ;  and  the  sunny  gold  in  his  hand, 
offered  liberally  for  supplies,  beamed  melting  influences. 
Besides,  the  Chaudiere  valley,  secluded  though  it  was, 
had  been  penetrated  by  the  ideas  that  had  gradually 
leavened  the  rest  of  French  Canada.  Its  people  were 
ripe  for  the  invasion.  '  You  have  come  from  heaven  to 
give  us  liberty  ! '  they  cried  to  the  American  leader  ;  and 
the  parish  bell  rang  joyously.10 

With  all  promptness,  Arnold  proceeded  to  organize  a  re 
lief-party,  and  Hanchet's  company  soon  arrived  to  help. 
The  first  settlement  contained  only  three  or  four  little 
houses  besides  the  wigwams  of  the  Indians,  yet  a  party 
of  Canadians  under  Lieutenant  Church,  with  a  small 
drove  of  cattle  and  a  couple  of  horses  laden  with  bags  of 
oatmeal,  set  out  the  next  day  (October  31)  by  land,  while 
mutton  for  the  sick  and  a  few  other  good  things  went 
soon  after  in  canoes.  But  the  progress  of  both  parties 
was  unavoidably  slow,  and,  though  the  van  of  the  army 
came  in  sight  of  provisions  on  the  second  of  November,  it 
was  not  until  the  next  day — the  day  Montgomery  entered 
St.  Johns — that  a  large  number  of  the  soldiers  met  relief. 

Time  was  not  wasted.  When  a  party  of  the  spectres 
presented  itself,  as  many  as  possible  were  gathered,  and 
an  ox  or  a  cow  fell  a  victim  at  once.  Sometimes  the  men 

10  Ogden,  Journal,  Nov.  2. 


6oo  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

could  wait  for  no  process  of  cooking.  Raw  flesh  tasted 
good  ;  and  unbolted  oatmeal,  *  wet  with  cold  water, '  was 
pronounced  'sumptuous.'  'We  sat  down,  eat  our  ra 
tions,  blessed  our  stars,  and  thought  it  luxury, '  wrote  the 
surgeon  ;  and  well  he  might.  '  It  was  like  being  brought 
from  a  dungeon  to  behold  the  clear  light  of  the  sun,' 
exclaimed  Stocking. 

As  soon  as  possible,  the  rescuers  pushed  forward  again 
on  their  errand  of  mercy,  shouting  as  they  went.  When 
evening  arrived,  they  still  kept  at  work  ;  and  man  after 
man,  found  insensible  in  the  snow,  was  revived,  fed,  and 
brought  into  camp  on  the  horses,  '  the  most  forlorn  objects 
that  ever  my  eyes  beheld,'  said  Morison.  Happily,  it 
was  not  as  if  they  had  been  reduced  to  their  state  of  weak 
ness  by  disease.  Though  near  perishing,  they  soon  began 
to  revive  ;  and,  while  many  were  ill  and  feeble,  only  a  few 
actually  died. 

When  the  long  procession  of  ghosts— ghosts  with  fire 
locks  on  their  shoulders— began  to  stream  from  the  woods, 
alarm  as  well  as  astonishment  was  felt  in  the  valley. 
But  Washington's  appeal  reassured  the  simple,  honest 
peasants.  'Let  no  man  desert  his  habitation,'  pleaded 
the  manifesto  ;  '  let  no  one  flee  as  before  an  enemy.  The 
cause  of  America  and  of  liberty  is  the  cause  of  every 
virtuous  American  citizen ;  whatever  may  be  his  religion 
or  his  descent. '  Confidence  quickly  returned.  Astonish 
ment  changed  into  admiration,  when  the  heroic  march  of 
the  Provincials  was  understood  ;  and  alarm  became  sym 
pathy,  when  they  were  seen  to  be  famishing.  Meat  in 
plenty  ;  boiled  potatoes,  hot  from  the  kettle ;  eggs,  milk, 
and  cheese  ;  firkin  butter  and  warm  bread,— all  these  and 
more  soon  waited  at  every  turn.  The  prices  appeared 
rather  high,  but  so  they  had  on  the  Kennebec  ;  and  it 
was  thought  that  even  in  New  England  the  wayfarers 
would  not  have  been  treated  with  more  kindness. 


THE  LOWER  CHAUDIERE 

SCALE  EQUALS  4  MILES 


60 1 


602   Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

The  Provincials  also  had  a  surprise  to  overcome.  Little 
used,  most  of  them,  to  foreign  types,  they  waded  the  icy 
Du  lyoup,  saluted  the  first  house  with  a  cheer,  and  sud 
denly  found  themselves  among  a  strange  people.  Like 
so  many  angels  the  rescuing  party  had  seemed  ;  but,  on 
cooler  observation,  the  Canadians  proved  to  be  short  and 
rather  swarthy,  with  hard  features — the  reflection  of  a 
hard  life — masking  their  kindly  hearts.  The  quick  mo 
tions  of  their  bodies,  their  long  queues,  and  the  pipes  that 
had  sprouted  almost  with  their  milk  teeth,  seemed  very 
alien.  Breeches  of  leather  or  coarse  cloth;  thick  brown 
woollen  stockings,  tied  below  the  knee  with  a  red  wool 
len  band  ;  shirts  of  dotted  homespun  ;  jackets  of  white 
frieze  with  a  fringe  at  the  edge  and  red  and  blue  ribbons, 
attached  with  rosettes  of  the  same  colors,  on  the  front ; 
thick  red  bonnets  lined  with  white  ;  overcoats  with  wool 
len  Capuchin  hoods  ;  heavy  woollen  sashes  of  divers  colors, 
with  tassels  at  the  ends,  binding  all  fast  above  the  hips,11— 
such  toggery  and  the  incessant  foreign  gibberish  seemed 
hardly  Christian ;  and,  indeed,  were  not  these  people 
'  papists '  and  Frenchmen,  after  all,  and  who  knew  what 
they  were  jabbering  one  to  another  ? 

But — very  fortunatel}^  since  Arnold's  downright  Protes 
tants  were  to  spend  some  time  among  these  Canadians— 
they  saw  the  aliens  first  as  ministering  Samaritans.  Peo 
ple  so  good,  to  them  could  not  be  very  bad.  Prejudices 
took  flight.  Protestant  and  Catholic,  Anglo-Saxon  and 
Gaul,  struck  hands  in  friendship.  Jolly  enough  it  was 
to  see  an  old  woman  leave  her  loom  when  a  party  of  the 
visitors  called,  and  sing  and  dance  '  Yankee  Doddle '  with 
all  her  might,  while  a  couple  of  smart  girls  in  homespun, 
less  shy  than  they  seemed,  looked  all  approbation  ;  and 
the  strangers  for  their  part,  obeying  their  own  hearts  as 


1  J  §  Anburey,  Travels,  I.,  p.  70.     Stone  (ed.),  letters,  passim.    Mart,   Re 
marks:  Can.  Arch.,  M,  384,  p.  85. 


The  Indians  Enlist  603 

well  as  General  Washington's  tremendously  emphatic 
orders,12  bequeathed  to  later  generations  the  pleasantest 
memories  of  the  shady  valle}7. 

Soon,  however,  another  factor  of  the  situation  had  to 
be  dealt  with.  At  least  seventy  or  eighty  Indians,  well 
decked  out  with  'broaches,  bracelets  &  other  trinkets,' 
were  in  evidence  at  the  first  settlement;  and  a  little  later 
(November  4)  they  met  Arnold  'in  great  pornp,'  demand 
ing  through  one  of  their  chiefs,  with  much  oratory  and 
many  gestures,  the  reason  for  this  armed  invasion.  In  re 
ply,  Arnold  harangued  these  'Friends  and  brethren'  on 
the  troubles  with  England,  and  the  disposition  of  the 
British  troops  to  oppress  the  people  of  Canada,  '  make  them 
pay  a  great  price  for  their  rum  &c. ;  [and]  press  them  to 
take  up  arms  against  the  Bostonians,  their  brethren,  who 
had  done  them  no  hurt.'  '  By  the  desire  of  the  French  and 
Indians,  our  brothers,'  he  continued,  'we  have  come  to 
their  assistance,  with  an  intent  to  drive  out  the  king's  sol 
diers  ;  when  drove  off  we  will  return  to  our  own  country, 
and  leave  this  to  thepeacable  enjoy  merit  of  its  proper  inhabi 
tants.  Now  if  the  Indians,  our  brethren,  will  join  us,  we 
will  be  very  much  obliged  to  them.'  Liberal  terms  were 
offered,  and  some  forty  or  fifty  savages — including  the 
dreaded  Natanis  himself,  who  had  watched  the  army  un 
seen  all  the  way  from  the  Great  Carrying- Place — enlisted 
forthwith,  launched  their  canoes,  and  proceeded  as  Sons 
of  Liberty.13 

Washington  had  ordered  Arnold  'by  no  means  to  prose 
cute  the  attempt '  in  case  the  people  of  Canada  would  not 
'cooperate,  or  at  least  willingly  acquiesce.'  lz  This  con 
dition  having  been  satisfied,  the  advance  could  now  con 
tinue,  and  the  leader  sent  urgent  orders  to  every  captain 
to  '  get  his  company  on  as  fast  as  possible.'  The  first  set- 


1 2  Writings  (Ford),  III.,  p.  121. 

1 3  See  particularly  Senter.     REMARK  XI,. 


604  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

tlement  was  reckoned  to  be  only  seventy  or  seventy-five 
miles  from  Quebec.14  Victualling  stations  awaited  the 
soldiers  at  various  points  ;  and  the  taverns  and  eating- 
houses,  which  could  now  be  found  here  and  there,  made 
it  easier  to  supply  their  wants.  Rapidly  gathering  energy 
they  pressed  on,  by  no  means  in  comfort  but  not  in  danger. 
Praise  to  God,  a  savage  wilderness  entombed  them  no 
longer.  On  each  side  of  the  chastened  Chaudiere  ran  a 
fair  line  of  thatched  and  whitewashed  cottages,  where  the 

peasants  lived  contentedly  on 
their  bread,  garlic,  and  salt. 
Shrines,  crosses,  and  the  still 
commoner  images  of  the  Vir 
gin  dotted  the  wayside.  Back 
from  river  and  houses  and 
road,  spread  trim,  gently  ris 
ing  fields ;  and  the  dreadful 
mountains  drew  farther  and 
farther  away.  '  Verry  beauti 
ful  ! '  exclaimed  Ogden,  and 
many  echoed  his  words. 

Just  beyond  the  village  of 
St.  Mary,  on  the  lower  Chau 
diere,  stood  the  manor  house 
of  Messire  Taschereau,  and 
this  young  noble  had  done 

all  he  could  to  prepare  so  agreeable  a  welcome  for  the 
Americans.  Not  that  he  intended  to  do  it,— far  indeed 
from  that.  None  of  his  caste  showed  more  loyalty  toward 
the  government  and  the  past.  But  his  lordliness,  and  in 
particular  his  rough  zeal  to  make  his  tenants 'arm  against 
the  Provincials,  had  set  their  hearts  toward  all  that  he 
opposed.  At  present  his  gentility  was  in  Quebec,  but  his 


THE  CHAUDIERE  NEAR  ST.  MARY 


4  REMARK  XLI. 


On  to  Quebec  605 

mansion  could  not  remove.  November  the  fifth,  Arnold 
fixed  the  headquarters  there;  and.  as  Washington  had 
forbidden  the  plundering  of  even  those  'known  to  be 
enemies,'12  no  doubt  the  officers  paid  somebody  for  their 
Sunday  dinner  of  '  Good  R.  Turkey,  Spanish  wine,  &c.'  15 

By  Monday  afternoon,  a  considerable  force  had  gathered 
near  St.  Mary,  and  the  advance  began  again.  About  four 
miles  below  the  village,  road  and  river  turned  each  a  right 
angle,  and  turned  them  in  opposite  ways.  Just  here  the 
highway  crossed  a  point  of  elevated  ground.  Far  behind, 
the  soldiers  could  survey  a  long  expanse  of  intervale  and 
upland  leading  to  the  terrible  mountains,  while  at  their 
feet  the  smooth  river,  gliding  radiantly  through  its  mead 
ows,  smiled  up  to  them  a  reflected  sun.  The  scene  ahead 
wore  a  grimmer  look :  many  dark  billows  of  evergreen 
still  separated  them  from  their  goal,  and  the  Route  Justin- 
ienne,  their  only  road,  was  twelve  miles  or  so  of  snow,  mud, 
and  water  half-leg  deep.  But  obstacles  like  these  were 
mere  trifles  now,  and  they  ploughed  straight  through  like 
ships,  until  at  about  midnight  they  reached  the  white  cot 
tages  of  St. Henri,  sleeping  tranquilly  around  its  modest 
spire. 

The  next  day,  Arnold's  van  marched  cautiously  on  by 
a  corduroy  road  in  a  snow-storm,  and,  an  hour  or  two  after 
midnight  in  the  morning  of  November  the  eighth,  his  ad 
vance  guard  stood  on  the  high  bluff  of  Point  Levi.  Below 
them— a  sea  of  quivering  sheen — rolled  the  vast  St.  Law 
rence,  its  crisp  waves  murmuring  on  a  pebbly  beach  ;  and 
yonder,  spectrally  illumined  by  the  queen  of  dreams  and 
mysteries,  pacing  the  zenith  in  her  lustrous  robes,  towered 
that  enormous  bulk  of  stone,  Quebec. 

Long  and  silently  they  gazed,  half-spellbound  by  the 


i 5  The  dinner  may  have  been  provided  by  the  cure,  who — according  to  the 
Journals  and  also  tradition — thought  it  wise  to  do  all  he  could  for  the  comfort 
of  the  Americans  (see  LeWoine;  Album,  p.  162). 


6o6  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

glamour  of  the  scene;  and  then,  as  they  measured  the 
great  rock  with  their  eyes,  they  said  to  themselves  that 
after  all,  though  so  much  had  been  endured  and  so  much 
achieved,  their  work,  their  sufferings,  and  their  triumph, 
instead  of  ending,  had  perhaps  only  begun.16 


§  Moon :  Smith,  Arnold's  March,  p.  460.     The  rest  is  inferential. 


REMARKS 

I.  (see  page  65) 

Under  date  of  Dec.  24,  1767,  Carleton  prepared  an  abridgment 
of  the  French  civil  laws  in  use  in  Canada,  which  he  desired  to  have 
adopted  (Can.  Arch.,  Q,  5,  I,  pp.  316-323),  so  that  evidently  his 
opinion  guided  the  administration.  It  should  be  noted  that  his 
instructions  required  that  no  ordinance  respecting  private  property 
should  be  passed  without  a  clause  suspending  the  execution  of  it 
until  the  Royal  will  had  been  made  known  (Can.  Arch.,  M,  230, 
p.  i,  24  [§  io]). 

II.  (see  page  99) 

The  Congress  has  been  ridiculed  for  talking  of  Montesquieu  to 
people  who  'probably  never  saw  a  printed  book'  (Am.  Hist. 
Assoc.  Papers,  V.,  Part  III.,  p.  93).  But  (r)  the  Canadians  saw 
printed  books  at  the  church,  the  priest's,  the  doctor's,  and  the 
notary's  ;  (2)  their  race  pride  probably  made  them  acquainted  in  a 
vague  way  with  a  national  glory  like  Montesquieu  ;  and  (3)  the 
vagueness  of  their  acquaintance  both  with  him  and  with  books 
was  as  likely  as  not  to  make  such  an  appeal  the  more  impressive. 

III.  (see  page  122) 

Fully  to  explain  and  justify  all  the  statements  of  the  text  would 
require  a  somewhat  extended  monograph,  for  the  evidence  is  at 
times  conflicting  and  partisanship  has  further  confused  it.  All  the 
essential  points  and  most  of  the  details  rest  on  contemporary  docu 
ments,  but  Beach's  trip,  the  trick  that  secured  the  barge,  the  details 
relating  to  Noah  Phelps,  Cailender,  and  Beaman,  a  few  minor  details, 
and  some  of  the  speeches  rest  upon  testimony  given  later.  This 
testimony  appears,  however,  to  be  trustworthy,  and  without  it  we 
cannot  explain  the  events.  As  in  some  other  instances,  the  author 
has  restored  to  the  direct  form  conversation  recorded  in  the  indirect 
form  of  discourse.  This  is  believed  to  bring  the  reader  into  a 
closer  contact  with  the  facts.  The  statements  relating  to  the 
route  from  point  to  point  and  the  local  history  are  certain  or 
practically  safe. 

IV.  (see  page  129) 

Gershom  Hewitt,  Sr.,  of  Canaan,  Conn.,  when  advanced  in 
years,  seems  to  have  claimed  to  have  done  substantially  what  is 

But  the  contemporary  accounts 

607 


608  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

and  even  Mr.  Hewitt's  own  statement  (as  reported)  seem  to  be 
decisive  against  this  claim,  which  was  doubtless  due  to  a  mis 
understanding  or  an  impaired  memory. 

V.  (see  page  129) 

See  the  settlements  of  Mass,  with  Capts.  J.  Stevens,  S.  Wright, 
J.  P.  Sloan,  Jonathan  Brown,  and  N.  Lee  :  4  Force,  III.,  304,  305, 
355,  and  1511.  Eleazer  Oswald  also  was  one  of  Arnold's  captains 
at  this  time  (ib.,  355 ;  B.  Arnold,  Certificate  :  Cout.  Cong.  Papers, 
No.  41,  X.,  p.  210).  Abraham  Brown  marched  from  Stockbridge 
and  West  Stockbridge  on  May  10  '  at  the  request  of  Col.  B.  Arnold  ' 
(4  Force,  IV.,  1382),  and  this  seems  rather  too  early  to  be  a  result 
of  the  Rupert  letter.  See  also  the  case  of  Capt.  Stewart :  4  Force, 
V.,  1254.  Baston  reported  meeting  several  hundred  men  on  their 
way  from  the  western  parts  of  Mass,  to  capture  Ti.  (4  Force,  II., 
624,  625).  Who  set  them  in  motion,  if  not  Arnold's  captains? 
Schuyler's  ledger  mentions  S.  Herrick  as  '  Captain  of  the  Massa 
chusetts  Bay  Forces,'  and  likewise  James  Noble,  Elijah  Babcock, 
Jacob  Brown,  Thomas  Lusk,  Lemuel  Stewart,  and  EH  Root.  A 
roll  of  Herrick's  company  in  Arnold's  regt.  may  be  found  among 
the  Mass.  MSS.  in  the  Lib.  of  Cong.,  and  it  is  noteworthy  that  the 
service  is  represented  as  beginning"  on  May  3. 

VI.  (see  page  134) 

It  is  impossible  to  satisfy  oneself  as  to  the  number  of  men 
engaged  in  the  affair.  Chittenden  (Capt.  of  Ti.,  p.  37)  said  there 
were  three  hundred  men  on  the  Vt.  side  (before  any  crossed),  all 
raised  on  the  Grants.  But  certainly  Conn,  men  were  there  ;  and, 
as  Easton  crossed  the  lake,  his  command  was  no  doubt  still  with 
him.  Bascom  (Vermonter,  Mar.,  1903,  p.  271),  who  has  given  par 
ticular  attention  to  the  matter,  considers  270  as  representing  the 
general  opinion  of  the  authorities,  and  this  was  Goodhue's  opinion. 
But,  when  we  go  back  to  the  original  sources,  it  does  not  seem 
easy  to  get  these  figures,  and  it  is  not  possible  to  prove  anywhere 
near  300  names.  Easton 's  figures  seem  to  have  been  240.  Arnold 
wrote  the  Cont.  Cong.,  May  29,  that  he  found  Allen  on  the  gth 
with  'about  one  hundred  men'  (4  Force,  II.,  734).  Veritas  says 
that  Allen  and  Warner  collected  about  150  (4  Force,  II.,  1085). 
E.  Allen  wrote  the  Albany  Com.,  May  IT,  that  there  were  about 
130  G.  M.  Boys  and  about  47  men  of  Easton's  (4  Force,  II.,  606); 
but,  writing  Mass,  the  same  day  (ib.,  556),  claimed  to  have  had 
only  about  100  G.  M.  B.  Arnold  wrote  the  Mass,  authorities, 
May  n,  that  he  found  150  men  collected  near  Ticonderoga  (4  Force, 
II.,  557).  Mott,  whose  account  is  the  best  so  far  as  it  goes,  states 
that  at  Castleton  there  were  about  170,  including  30  detailed  for 
Skenesborough,  but  Allen  expected  to  meet  more  atShoreham,  and 
Beach  had  not  yet  made  his  round.  According  to  the  Worcester 
Spy,  May  17,  1775,  there  were  about  150  men  under  Allen  and 
Easton,  and  Delaplace's  memorial  gives  the  same  estimate  (Conn. 
Arch.,  Rev.  War,  I.,  Doc.  405).  On  p.  698  of  the  printed  Journal 


Remarks  609 

of  the  Mass.  Prov.  Cong,  is  a  certificate  signed  by  Easton,  Ball, 
Mott,  and  N.  Phelps  which  seems  to  state  that  Ti.  was  taken  by 
the  Conn,  men,  80  Mass,  men,  and  140  N.  H.  Grants  men  :  total 
about  236,  and  this  is  the  basis  of  the  text.  The  statement  was 
crudely  drawn,  however;  and  might  be  construed  so  as  to  add  to 
the  236  what  men  were  raised  after  Castleton  was  reached.  Schuy- 
ler  wrote  Congress  on  July  26,  1775  :  '  I  find  it  will  be  extremely 
difficult  to  ascertain  their  number  with  any  degree  of  precision ' 
(4  Force,  II.,  1729) ;  so  our  own  lack  of  success  is  not  surprising. 

The  fact  that  Arnold  crossed  the  lake  among  the  first  seems  to 
prove  that  a  share  in  the  leadership  had  been  conceded  to  him.  It 
would  have  been  very  easy  to  stop  him  on  the  eastern  shore. 

VII.  (see  page  150) 

This  account  of  the  proceedings  at  Skenesborough  is  mainly 
inferential,  for  we  have  no  account  of  them  ;  but  it  seems  justified 
by  these  facts  :  (i)  Herrick  was  ordered  to  go  to  Shoreham,  May 
9-10,  with  Skene's  boats.  He  captured  Skene  on  that  day,  but  did 
not  capture  Skene's  people  (see  Skene's  Memorial)  and  did  not  go 
to  Shoreham.  (2)  The  number  of  tenants  and  work-people  at 
Skenesborough  was  considerable,  and  they  had  cannon  while  Her 
rick  had  none.  (3)  Arnold  states  that  he  ordered  some  of  his 
recruits  to  go  by  way  of  Skenesborough.  (4)  They  did  so.  (5) 
They  and  the  schooner  reached  Ti.  together.  This  receives  con 
firmation  from  the  Memorial  of  Eleazer  Oswald  and  Jonathan 
Brown,  which  states  that  they  captured  Skene's  schooner  (  Cont. 
Cong.  Papers,  No.  41,  X.,  p.  221). 

VIII.  (see  page  152) 

See  *  Veritas'  in  Holt's  paper:  4  Force,  II.,  1085.  This  is  sup 
ported  by  Delaplace's  statement  (contradicting  Easton's  report) 
that  he  did  not  see  Easton  at  the  time  of  the  capture  (4  Force,  II., 
1087)  ;  by  Montgomery's  remark  that  Easton's  character  had 
'suffered  in  the  publick  opinion  by  some  unfortunate  transaction 
last  summer'  (4  Force,  III.,  1684)  ;  and  by  Arnold's  letter  to  the 
Com.  Safety,  May  19  (4  Force,  II.,  645).  See  also  Sparks's  Arnold, 
p.  70;  and  Arnold,  Regt.  Mem.  Book.  There  is  a  slight  difficulty 
about  the  kicking.  '  Veritas  '  apparently  reports  it  (but  not  until 
June  25)  as  in  connection  with  the  capture  of  Ti.,  while  Arnold's 
Regt.  Mem.  Book  mentions  under  the  date  of  June  n  what  seems 
to  have  been  the  same  affair.  July  14,  1779,  the  Board  of  War 
voted  to  dismiss  Easton  from  the  service  because  he  had  never 
taken  steps  to  have  the  charges  against  him  investigated  (Bd.  of 
War  Papers,  II.,  p.  519). 

IX.  (see  page  153) 

While  it  would  be  an  error  to  judge  the  Green  Mountain  Boys 

too  rigidly  in  this  matter,  there  seems  to  have  been  some  basis  for 

Arnold's  complaint.      It  is  supported  by  antecedent  probability; 

by  Delaplace   in  two  documents  (i,  Emmet   Coll.,  No.  4414  ;  2, 

VOL.  i. — 39. 


6io  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

Letter  to  Hancock  :  4  Force,  V.,  1175) ;  by  B.  Deane's  letter  to  S. 
Deane  (Conn.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  II.,  p.  246);  by  Schuyler  (4  Force, 
II.,  1702)  ;  and  to  some  extent  by  the  action  of  Congress  in  order 
ing  Dr.  Fay  to  be  examined  later  on  a  charge  of  'plundering' 
(Journ.,  July  30,  1776). 

X.  (see  page  154) 

See  the  documents  explaining  the  origin  of  the  expedition  : 
Conn.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  I.,  particularly  pp.  165,  181,  185  ;  Parsons's 
letter  to  Trumbull  and  Mott's  letter  to  the  Mass.  Cong.,  in  the 
Journ.  of  the  Mass.  Cong.  ;  letter  of  the  Conn.  Com.  of  Corres.  to 
the  Mass.  Cong.,  4  Force,  II.,  618  ('set  on  foot  by  some  private 
gentlemen') ;  etc.  Gov.  Trumbull  wrote  the  Mass.  Cong.,  May  25, 
1775,  that  the  expedition  was  '  without  publick  authority,  (to  our 
knowledge,) '  :  4  Force,  II.,  706.  Allen  stated  to  the  Albany  Com 
mittee,  May  n,  1775,  that  he  seized  Ti.  'pursuant  to  my  directions 
from  sundry  leading  gentlemen  of  Mass.  Bay  and  Conn.':  4  Force, 
II.,  606. 

XI.  (see  page  190) 

Dec.  i,  1776,  John  Brown  charged  Arnold  with  'a  treasonable 
attempt'  to  join  the  British  in  consequence  of  the  action  of  the 
Mass.  Committee  (Smith,  Pittsfield,  I.,  p.  272).  The  author  made 
a  careful  study  of  the  matter  for  insertion  here ;  but,  as  it  is  only 
incidental  and  the  book  is  large,  has  decided  to  omit  it.  It  may 
be  enough  to  say  that  (i)  when  Brown  made  this  charge  he  was  as 
bitter  an  enemy  of  Arnold's  as  he  could  possibly  be  ;  (2)  other 
charges  made  by  him  at  the  same  time  were  groundless,  as  will 
appear  later  in  this  work  ;  (3)  there  is  no  evidence  except  Brown's 
assertion  to  support  this  charge  ;  and  (4)  several  facts  and  con 
siderations  appear  to  disprove  it  completely. 

XII.  (see  page  270) 

The  MS.  Army  Lists  preserved  in  the  Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  London, 
mention  two  men  named  Richard  Montgomery  who  might  easily 
be  confounded.  The  one  that  concerns  us  was  an  ensign  in  the 
I7th  Foot  (Wyngard's),  Sept.  21,  1756;  lieutenant,  July  10,  1758; 
captain,  May  6,  1762  ;  retired,  April  6,  17^2. 

XIII.  (see  page  271) 

For  the  organization  and  personnel  of  the  Conn,  troops  see 
Johnston,  Record.  An  article  explaining  the  organization  of 
the  N.  Y.  troops  may  be  found  in  the  Mag.  of  Amer.  Hist.,  Dec., 
1881  ;  the  details  i  elating  to  the  movements  of  the  N.  Y.  corps 
may  be  traced  out  in  the  correspondence  (Force,  Archives,  4th 
series,  Vols.  II.  and  III.),  the  proceedings  of  the  N.  Y.  Cong,  and 
Com.  Safety  (also  in  Force),  etc. 

Despite  the  high  ground  and  the  fresh  breezes  of  Ticonderoga, 
the  fogs,  the  lake  water,  and  the  mosquitos  caused  many  cases  of 
illness.  It  is  hard  to  believe  that  they  were  serious,  however,  in 


Remarks  611 

view  (e.g.)  of  this  letter  from  a  Conn,  officer,  dated  Aug.  23  :  '  Our 
regiment  is  in  a  good  state  of  health  ;  we  have  not  lost  a  man  by 
death  since  we  left  Connecticut.  Col.  Hinman's  has  never  lost 
one  since  they  inlisted  '  (Boston  Gazette,  Sept.  18,  1775). 

XIV.  (see  page  284) 

Cazeau  appears  to  have  aided  and  betrayed  both  sides.  See 
Cont.  Cong.  Papers,  No.  19,  I.,  pp.  551,  553. 

XV.  (see  page  293) 

July  24,  1775,  Dartmouth  wrote  Johnson  to  '  exert  every  effort ' 
to  induce  the  Six  Nations  '  to  take  up  the  Hatchet  against  His 
Majesty's  Rebellious  Subjects  in  America'  (Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Am. 
and  W.  I.,  Vol.  279,  p.  247).  Of  course  this  particular  letter  had 
not  reached  Johnson,  but  it  suggests  the  nature  of  the  instructions 
given  him. 

Only  600  of  the  Indians  collected  by  Johnson  in  Canada  at  his 
council  were  fighting  men  (Claus). 

XVI.  (see  page  313) 

Perhaps  Nut  Island  was  really  too  insalubrious  for  the  purpose  ; 
but,  as  Schuyler's  later  movements  show  that  he  did  not  think  so 
at  this  time,  the  ad  hominem  argument  of  the  text  appears  sound. 
Indeed,  people  lived  on  the  island,  and  apparently  the  hygienic 
conditions  were  as  good  there  as  where  the  Americans  camped  at 
St.  Johns.  It  is  true  that  in  1776  the  Americans  found  the  island 
strategically  untenable,  but  Carleton  had  at  that  time  a  large 
army  and  plenty  of  artillery. 

XVII.  (see  page  3 1 5) 

Besides  Hinman's  regiment  (1000  men),  Kaston's  fragment  and 
che  Albany  fragment  (see  return,  July  15,  p.  255),  Waterbury'sConn. 
regiment  of  one  thousand  (a  part  of  Wooster's  command)  arrived 
at  Albany  on  July  28,  and  thence  had  moved  slowly  to  the  front. 
Four  companies  of  the  First  New  York  appeared  at  Albany  about 
Aug.  10.  Five  companies  of  the  Second  New  York  were  at  Ti.  on 
Aug.  25  ;  and  other  troops,  quite  enough  for  garrisons,  were  on  the 
point  of  arriving,  so  that  Schuyler  had  men  enough  as  well  as 
boats  and  provisions  enough  for  an  earlier  move  than  was  made. 
See  Ritzema's  Journal  ;  Waterbury's  Orderly  Book  ;  Barlow's 
Orderly  Book  and  Journal  ;  Trumbull's  Journal  ;  letter  from  an 
officer,  Aug.  25  :  Boston  Gazette,  Sept.  25,  1775. 

XVIII.  (see  page  317) 

Did  Montgomery  order  the  advance  without  authority  from 
Schuyler  to  do  so  ?  It  is  certain  that  he  did,  for  he  wrote  Schuyler 
on  Aug.  30:  'the  moving  without  your  orders  I  don't  like,'but 


612  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

on  the  other  hand  the  prevention  of  the  enemy  is  of  the  utmost 
consequence — if  I  must  err  I  wish  to  be  on  the  right  side  '  (Schuy- 
ler  Papers  ;  also  in  Lossing,  Schuyler,  I.,  p.  393). 

XIX.  (see  page  329) 

This  gentleman  was  probably  Moses  Hazen,  who — as  the  owner 
of  much  property  near  St.  Johns — did  not  wish  to  see  an  invading 
army  there,  and  (perhaps  for  this  reason)  notified  Carleton  (p.  211) 
of  the  approach  of  the  Americans.  He  certainly  had  an  interview 
with  Schuyler  on  Sept.  6,  and  threw  cold  water  on  the  enterprise 
(his  letter  to  Hancock,  Feb.  18,  1776:  4  Force,  IV.,  1186;  and 
Montgomery  to  Mrs.  Montgomery,  Sept.  5,  1775  :  L.  Iv.  H[unt], 
Biog.  Notes,  p.  n). 

XX.  (see  page  335) 

As  will  be  shown  on  p.  362,  a  movement  toward  advance  was 
actually  made  on  the  15th  ;  but  it  was  only  tentative  and  in  fact 
accomplished  nothing  of  moment.  Schuyler,  who  probably  set 
out  early  on  the  i6th,  can  have  had  no  particular  influence— if  he 
had  any  at  all — in  the  matter. 

XXI.  (see  page  362) 

The  Canadians  were  in  fact  looking  for  the  arrival  of  the  Ameri 
cans.  When  it  was  heard  they  had  arrived  at  He  aux  Noix,  a  meet 
ing  was  held  at  Pte.  Olivier  de  Chambly,  and  it  was  decided  to  join 
them.  This  the  British  force  prevented.  Two  men  were  deputed 
to  inform  Montgomery  of  the  decision,  but  they  lost  heart  and 
went  the  other  way.  One  Alain  then  undertook  the  mission,  and 
he  returned  with  Brown  (Certif.  of  J.  B.  Alain,  Apr.  6,  1779  \  Board 
of  War  Papers,  II.,  p.  273). 

XXII.  (see  page  367) 

As  exact  returns  were  not  made,  it  is  impossible  to  give  close 
figures  for  the  army  :  see  Schuyler  to  Washington,  Sept.  20.  Sept. 
10,  the  army  included,  all  told,  1394  effectives  and  about  600  sick. 
Before  leaving  He  aux  Noix,  Montgomery  received  nearly  350  more. 
Nearly  600  more  probably  arrived  by  the  25th.  260  more  (3d 
N.  Y.)  were  waiting  for  boats  at  Ticouderoga  on  the  2oth  (Schuy 
ler,  Sept.  20).  Trumbull  speaks  of  the  number  who  went  to  St. 
Johns  on  the  I7th  as  about  1400  effectives  ;  Ritzema,  as  150x3. 
Trumbull  (Journal,  Sept.  19)  gives  these  figures  :  in  the  north 
camp,  at  Chambly  and  at  Laprairie,  600 ;  on  the  water-craft,  330 ; 
in  the  south  camp,  400.  The  latter  number  apparently  does  not 
include  200  charged  with  guarding  the  boats  and  landing.  Oct.  6, 
H.  B.  Livingston  reported  1000  in  the  main  camp,  900  on  the  north 
side,  and  200  Canadians  on  the  other  side  of  the  river  (Mag.  Am. 
Hist.,  1889,  p.  256).  On  the  same  day,  S.  Mott  wrote  :  'We  have 
never  yet  been  2000  strong,  exclusive  of  our  friends  of  Canada ' 
(4  Force,  III.,  972)  ;  while  James  van  Rensselaer  (who,  as  aide-de- 


Remarks  6 1 3 

camp,  probably  had  an  inside  view)  wrote :  '  We  are  in  Dayly 
expectation  of  400  men  from  Ticonderoga,  shall  then  have  2000 ' 
(Bonney,  Gleanings,  I.,  p.  45). 

XXIII.  (see  page  390) 

Montgomery  does  not  seem  to  have  been  opposed  to  a  properly 
managed  attack  on  Montreal.  Note  the  P.S.  of  the  letter  given  on 
p.  409,  and  his  letter  to  Schuyler,  Sept.  28  (Sparks,  Corres.,  I.,  p. 
467),  He  complained  of  Allen  only  for  attempting  it  'single- 
handed.'  The  spot  where  the  encounter  took  place  cannot  be 
identified.  It  is  doubtless  covered  now  by  the  northern  suburb. 

How  did  it  happen,  the  reader  may  inquire,  that,  according  to 
the  text,  Allen  attacked  Montreal  single-handed  after  considering 
the  idea  of  doing  so  and  deciding  against  it.  In  reply  it  mav  be 
said  (i)  that  many  people  change  their  minds  now  and  theu^  for 
reasons  we  cannot  explain  ;  and  (2)  that  something  may  have  been 
dropped  in  the  interview  with  Brown  which  still  further  excited 
Allen's  ambition  or  confidence. 

XXIV.  (see  page  401) 

Bismarck,  who  understood  the  French,  said  : '  If  one  only  listened 
to  the  French  peasant,  there  would  never  be  any  war  ;  .  .  .  con 
queror  or  conquered,  the  one  thing  he  sees  clearly  is  that  victory 
or  defeat  will  bring  the  battle  to  a  close  and  he  will  then  be  able 
to  return  home'  (M.  de  Blowitz,  Memoirs,  p.  143). 

XXV.  (see  page  424) 

According  to  Sanguinet,  La  Corne  opened  his  negotiations  before 
Allen's  fiasco,  and  changed  his  tune  in  consequence  of  that  affair. 
But  then  why  did  he  remain  in  so  compromising  a  position  until 
Oct.  6?  S.  Mott  wrote  Trumbull  on  Oct.  6  that  La  Come  'has 
now'  made  overtures  (4  Force,  III.,  972) ;  aud  Montgomery  repre 
sented  his  advances  as  an  evidence  that  Allen's  fiasco  had  perhaps 
done  no  serious  mischief  (Oct.  5,  1775  :  Livingston  Papers,  1775-1777, 
P-  50- 

XXVI.  (see  page  426) 

Ritzema  (Journal,  Feb.  16,  1776)  says  that  the  capture  of  Chambly 
was  planned  by  Dugan,  whereas  Livingston's  letter,  quoted  in  the 
text,  points  to  him  as  the  author  of  the  plan.  Probably  the  two 
hatched  it  jointly,  and  perhaps  nobody  could  have  told  which 
deserved  the  chief  credit. 

XXVII.  (see  page  429) 

In  his  letter  of  Oct.  25,  Carleton  explained  to  Dartmouth  that 
his  apparently  harsh  treatment  of  Allen  was  due  to  the  lack  of  a 
suitable  prison  and  guards. 


614  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

For  further  evidence  that  the  Canadians  did  not,  as  their  his 
torians  have  maintained,  stand  loyally  by  the  government,  see 
Cramahe  to  Dartmouth,  Sept.  21,  1775  (Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Colon. 
Corres.,  Quebec,  n,  p.  397)  ;  Carleton  to  Dartmouth,  Sept.  21,  1775 
(ib.,  p.  421) ;  Id.  to  Id.,  Nov.  5,  1775  (ib.,  p.  445)  ;  Montgolfier,  Oct. 
2>  J775  (Can.  Arch.) ;  Better  from  Laprairie,  Nov.  3,  1775  (4  Force, 
III.,  1342)  ;  Maclean,  Nov.  20,  1775  (War  Off.,  Orig.  Corres.,  Vol. 
12  );  Extracts  from  Ind.  Trans.  (  Pub  Rec.  Off.,  Am.  and  W.  I., 
Vol.  280,  p.  9);  Carleton,  Nov.  20,  1775  (Pub.  Rec.  Off.,  Colon. 
Corres.,  Quebec,  n,  p.  519)  ;  Prescott  (Revol.  Journ.,  Oct.  10,  1775) ; 
Hutcheson,  Oct.  6,  1775  (Can.  Arch.,  B,  20,  p.  39);  Howe  to 
Dartmouth,  Dec.  3,  1775  (4  Force,  IV.,  170). 

XXVIII.  (see  page  459) 

A  letter,  apparently  written  by  Lamb  (4  Force,  III.,  1343)  en 
Nov.  3,  says  :  '  I  have  had  five  killed  .  .  .  six  wounded,  one  died 
by  sickness  ;  which  is  as  great  a  loss  as  has  been  sustained  by  the 
whole  Army,  except  in  the  first  skirmish  with  the  Indians,  etc.;' 
but  in  the  text,  in  order  to  be  safe,  the  author  has  used  the  largest 
figures  given  by  a  responsible  authority.  Sanguinet's  account  of 
the  losses  of  the  British  is  :  14  killed  and  mortally  wounded,  17 
or  18  seriously  wounded,  60  slightly  hurt  (Verreau,  Invasion,  p. 
78).  Maclean  reported  12  of  his  corps  as  killed.  According  to 
Montgomery's  report,  the  prisoners  taken  at  St.  Johns  numbered 
519  (Schuyler  Papers,  No.  1519).  Some  of  the  garrison  appear  to 
have  deserted. 

XXIX.  (see  page  465) 

Ritzema's  Journal  states  that  Major  Dimond  occupied  the  con 
spicuous  position  assigned  to  Lamb  in  the  text.  But  one  cannot 
see  why  it  should  have  been  given  to  an  officer  who  had  not  dis 
tinguished  himself  rather  than  to  one  who  had  ;  and  the  letter  in 
4  Force,  III.,  1343,  is  so  evidently  from  Lamb,  that  the  text  appears 
justified.  Probably  there  is  no  real  clash  ;  for,  as  Dimond  was  the 
brigade-major  (Instr.  to  Livingston,  Paine,  and  Langdon  :  Sparks 
MSS.,  No.  52,  II.,  p.  125),  he  may  have  been  the  titular  while 
Lamb  was  the  actual  leader  of  the  detachment. 

XXX.  (see  page  488) 

It  is  very  difficult  to  reconcile  the  accounts  of  this  affair. 
Carleton's,  the  only  contemporary  one  from  a  person  present,  is 
very  brief.  He  thought  the  Americans  had  cannon  on  the  shore 
about  a  league  above  Sorel  [Brown's  small  battery?],  but  probably 
the  balls  that  he  thought  came  from  the  shore  really  came  from  a 
row-galley  just  at  the  edge  of  the  water  (perhaps  screening  itself 
behind  a  bend).  There  was  no  doubt  a  real  battery  at  Sorel,  but 
this  fact  does  not  contradict  what*  Carroll  said  about  Brown's 


Remarks  615 

*  grand  battery'  [i.e.,  something  represented  as  much  superior  to 
what  actually  existed].  It  is  impossible  to  reject  Carroll's  story, 
however  improbable  it  may  seem.  Ira  Allen  was  present ;  but  he 
wrote  from  memory  long  after  and  his  account  is  inaccurate  in 
several  details. 

XXXI.  (see  page  497) 

As  the  author  saw  that  it  wrould  not  be  possible  to  discuss  with 
sufficient  fullness  in  the  present  work  all  the  questions  concerning 
the  march  of  the  Americans  through  the  wilderness,  he  published 
a  special  volume  on  that  subject  entitled  Arnold's  March  from 
Cambridge  to  Quebec.  For  this  reason,  except  in  special  cases,  it 
seems  unnecessary  to  give  references  here.  In  fact,  it  would,  in 
many  cases,  be  meaningless  or  even  worse  to  do  so,  for  the  various 
accounts  require,  for  safe  use,  the  extended  comparison  and 
criticism  given  them  in  Arnold's  March.  To  be  sure,  the  present 
narrative,  while  omitting  many  of  the  details  and  the  discussions 
of  that  volume,  adds  many  things,  but  these  are  mainly  super- 
structural,  not  fundamental,  and  for  that  reason  do  not  seem  to 
demand  the  citation  of  authorities  except  in  special  cases.  A  few 
minor  points,  shown  in  Arnold's  March  to  be  very  probable,  are 
presented  in  the  present  book  without  qualification,  in  order  not 
to  weary  the  reader. 

The  principal  sources  of  information  (almost  exclusively,  except 
as  to  some  minor  details,  the  Journals  of  officers  and  soldiers, 
Arnold's  letters,  and  the  author's  investigations  on  the  ground) 
may  be  found  in  the  List  of  Sources  under  the  following  names  :  Ar 
nold,  Bailey,  Colburn,  Dearborn,  Fobes,  Getchell,  Haskell,  Heath, 
Henry,  Humphrey,  Meigs,  Melvin,  Montresor,  Morison,  Ogden, 
Oswald,  Senter,  Squier,  Stocking,  Thayer,  Tolman,  Topham.  For 
a  further  account  and  critical  study  of  the  sources,  and  in  par 
ticular  the  reasons  for  the  appearance  of  Tolman,  instead  of  Ware 
and  Wild,  see  Chapter  II.  of  Arnold's  March. 

In  that  book  the  author  did  not  refer  to  the  journals  by  citing 
the  page  number.  The  events  of  ten  or  twenty  days  are  often 
given  on  a  single  page  (e.g.,  by  Haskell),  and  the  reader,  know 
ing  when  an  event  occurred,  can  find  it  in  any  Journal  most 
conveniently  by  looking  for  the  date.* 

*  Arnold's  March,  as  the  title  page  stated,  was  '  a  critical  study  ';  and,  as  a 
book  on  the  same  subject  containing  a  great  number  of  errors  had  recently 
appeared,  and  had  been  accepted,  in  default  of  anything  else,  as  the  standard, 
it  was  impossible  to  avoid  a  discussion  of  many  of  these  points-  a  most  un 
welcome  task.  Quite  naturally,  certain  persons  were  not  pleased  and  con 
siderable  personal  abuse  (including  the  ugly  anonymous  letter)  tell  upon 
the  present  writer.  Of  this  no  com  plaint  is  made.  An  honest  author  should 
be  willing  'to  accept  the  duty  and  also  the  penalties  of  telling  the  truth. 
Two  points,  however,  may  have  appeared  to  some  worthy  of  attention.  Wide 
currency  has  been  given  to  the  statement  that  the  present  author  purposely 
ignored  a  predecessor  ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  the  predecessor  and  his  book 
were  referred  to  on  more  than  one  hundred  pages  of  Arnold's  March.  It  has 
also  been  charged  that  the  present  author  failed  to  acknowledge  his  indebted 
ness  to  one  who  had  '  opened  the  way  '  for  him  ;  but  (as  anybody  can  see  from 


6i6  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

XXXII.  (see  page  499) 

The  origin  of  the  Kennebec  expedition  has  been  attributed  with 
equal  positiveness  and  equal  lack  of  argument  (i)  to  Washington, 
(2)  to  Arnold,  and  (3)  to  a  committee  of  Congress.  The  third 
theory,  besides  having  no  evidence  in  its  favor,  seems  excluded  by 
Washington's  words  :  <  I  am  now  to  inform  the  Honourable  Con 
gress  that  ...  I  have  detached  Col.  Arnold,'  etc.  (4  Force,  III  , 
760).  The  record  of  R.  Smith,  a  member  of  Congress  (Private 
Journal),  on  Sept.  20  that  a  Keunebec  expedition  was  'on  Foot,' 
seems  to  confirm  this  conclusion.  Arnold's  agency  will  presently 
be  found  supported  strongly  by  a  letter  from  Gen.  Gates.  It  is 
noteworthy,  too,  that  in  writing  Washington  while  on  the  march, 
he  excuses  himself  for  delays  as  if  he  felt  responsible  for  the 
enterprise.  Washington's  part,  aside  from  the  probabilities  offered 
in  the  text,  seems  pointed  at  by  the  way  he  jpoke  of  the  ex 
pedition  to  Congress  and  to  Schuyler  as  something  he  had  thought 
out  himself,  for  he  had  no  more  wish  than  need  to  take  any  other 
man's  credit.  It  may  be  added  that  L,angdon  passed  through 
Watertown,  Aug.  10,  on  his  way  home  from  Philadelphia,  and 
Hancock,  S.  Adams  and  J.  Adams  did  the  same  on  the  nth  (Boston 
Gazette,  Aug.  14,  1775)  ;  and  Washington  may  have  talked  of  the 
plan  with  any  or  all  of  them. 

XXXIII.  (see  page  501) 

One  reviewer  complained  that  Arnolds  March  did  not  indicate 
clearly  enough  where  the  originals  of  this  and  a  series  of  other 
previously  unpublished  documents  printed  in  Chapter  IV.  and  the 
notes  upon  it  could  be  found.  Reply  :  (i)  any  one  who  followed 
the  indication  given  would  have  found  that  the  documents  could 
only  be  in  one  of  two  places,  both  in  the  same  building ;  and  (2) 
the  author  did  not  think  it  safe  to  state  exactly  where  the  docu 
ments  were,  for  they  did  not  appear  to  have  found  a  permanent 
place.  When  he  called  to  see  them,  they  were  lying,  tied  up  in  a 
packet  by  themselves,  in  a  drawer  of  a  cabinet  behind  the  desk  of 
Mr.  French,  the  courteous  File  Clerk  of  the  House  of  Repre 
sentatives,  Washington.  In  view  of  (i),  this  explanation  did  not 
at  the  time  seem  to  the  author  necessary. 

XXXIV.  (see  page  509) 

It  is  impossible  to  clear  up  fully  the  method  of  organizing  the 
detachment.  No  complete  returns  of  it  exist,  and  the  utmost 
pains  have  not  been  able  to  make  up  the  list  of  names.  There 

his  notice  of  the  book  in  question  in  the  American  Historical  Review,  VII  ,  p 
399)  that  book  did  not  open  the  way.  It  is  stated  in  the  preface  of  Arnold's 
March  that  his  investigations  were  begun  and  long  continued  in  ignorance  of 
the  fact  that  another  was  at  work  in  the  same  field  ;  and  he  did  not  need  to 
make,  and  would  not  have  considered  it  safe  to  make,  a  single  statement  on 
the  authority  of  the  book  in  question  :  hence  he  was  not  indebted 


Remarks  617 

was  considerable  mixing  of  men  from  different  Colonies  (see 
British  return  of  prisoners  taken  at  Quebec,  Dec.  31,. 1775  :  Can. 
Arch.,  Q,  12,  p.  159).  Dearborn  had  men  from  Mass,  as  well  as 
N.  H.  Ward  of  R.  I.  had  men  from  Mass,  and  N.  H.  Hanchet  of 
Conn,  had  a  considerable  number  from  Mass.  Many,  probably 
most,  perhaps  nearly  all,  possibly  (in  a  sense)  quite  all  volunteered 
for  the  expedition  ;  for,  even  if  a  company  was  ordered  to  go,  it 
may  first  have  offered  in  one  form  or  another  to  do  so.  Again,  a 
captain  may  have  offered  his  company  after  talking  with  enough 
of  the  men  to  feel  sure  that  he  would  be  followed.  But,  as  the 
text  suggests  below,  it  seems  as  if  two  companies  of  the  riflemen 
at  least  were  not  volunteers.  For  N.  H.  men,  see  N.  H.  State 
Papers,  XIV.  ;  for  Mass,  men,  see  the  Archives  now  in  course  of 
publication  ;  for  R.  I.  men,  see  Gardner,  R.  I.  Line  ;  for  Conn, 
men,  see  Johnston,  Record  ;  for  a  fuller  discussion  of  the  make-up 
of  the  detachment,  sketches  of  the  officers,  etc.,  see  Arnold's 
March,  Chap.  III. 

XXXV.  (see  page  516) 

Humphrey  (and  after  him  Thayer)  states  that  one  reason  for 
waiting  in  Cambridge  was  '  to  fill  each  Company  Up  to  84  effective 
men.'  But  (i)  it  seems  very  improbable  that  the  orders  of  Sept.  5 
would  be  changed  ;  (2)  Humphrey's  statement  is  inconsistent  with 
Washington's  report  to  Congress  that  he  detached  '  1000  men'; 
(see  Arnold's  March,  pp.  57,  279)  ;  and  one  at  least  of  the  com 
panies  was  not  so  filled  (McCobb's  and  probably  Ward's  :  Arnold's 
March,  p.  279). 

XXXVI.  (see  page  527) 

Aug.  16,  a  committee  of  both  houses  of  the  Mass.  Cong.,  ap 
pointed  to  confer  with  the  St.  Francis  chief,  recommended  that 
the  four  who  came  with  him  should  remain  at  the  camp  in  Cam 
bridge,  while  the  chief  should  go  home  by  way  of  Ticonderoga 
(Mass.  Arch.,  Vol.  144  ;  4  Force,  III.,  339).  Sept.  25,  Arnold  wrote 
Washington,  'The  Indians  with  Higgius  set  out  by  land,  and  are 
not  yet  arrived.'  Of  course  the  St.  Francis  Indians  were  detained 
for  a  purpose,  and  as  the  best  use  for  them  was  to  accompany 
Arnold,  one  concludes  that  they  were  the  ones  who  went  with 
Higgins. 

Whose  Journal  was  it  that  Goodwin  gave  Arnold  ?  It  described 
both  routes  from  Canada  to  Maine  (i.e.,  by  both  forks  of  the 
Chaudiere  and  both  forks  of  the  Kennebec),  and  so  does  the 
Journal  of  Moutresor  (Maine  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  I.,  p.  341)-  Possibly 
Goodwin  had  and  gave  Montresor's  maps  and  Journal  ;  but  it 
seems  more  probable  that  these  (being  official  documents)  had 
come  into  the  possession  of  the  Mass,  government  or  some  other 
public  authority,  and  reached  Arnold  by  that  way. 


618   Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

XXXVII.   (see  page  565) 

Fobes  says,  '  His  [Arnold's]  order  to  have  the  provisions  equally 
divided,  gave  so  great  offense  to  Colonel  Knos  and  four  [three] 
captains  with  their  companies  that,  without  permission,  they  re 
turned  to  Cambridge  ';  and  probably  it  was  the  call  to  give  up  a 
part  of  the  supplies  which  they  believed  necessary  for  themselves 
which  brought  the  third  Division  to  a  decisive  step,  though  no 
doubt  this  merely  capped  the  climax  of  their  discontent. 

XXXVIII.  (see  page  570) 

The  present  names,  beginning  with  the  first  pond,  are  :  Lower, 
Bag,  Long,  and  Natanis  Ponds  ;  Horse  Shoe  Stream  ;  Lost  Pond  ; 
(then  the  portage  of  about  a  mile);  Horse  Shoe,  Mud,  and  Arnold 
(or  Moosehorn)  Ponds.  All  the  names  are  well  known  in  the 
region  except  Lost  Pond.  This  was  given  by  the  author,  because 
the  loch  was  unknown  to  the  guides.  Arnold's  Journal  seemed  to 
require  it ;  and,  after  a  good  deal  of  trouble,  the  author  found  it, 
well  hidden  by  hills  and  woods. 

XXXIX.  (see  page  579) 

At  present  the  main  current  and  the  name  of  Arnold  River  pass 
across  the  bar  and  down  the  outlet  of  Rush  River,  while  the  direct 
continuation  of  the  river  is  called  the  Black  or  Little  Arnold,  and 
the  middle  stream  bears  the  name  Dead  Arnold  ;  but  careful  study 
seems  to  prove  that  in  1775  the  Black  Arnold  was  the  main  river 
(Arnold's  March,  pp.  206-210). 

Davis  (Memoirs  of  A.  Burr,  p.  67)  says  that  Arnold  sent  Burr 
forward,  disguised  as  a  Catholic  priest,  from  Chaudiere  Pond 
[Lake  Megantic]  with  a  verbal  message  to  Gen.  Montgomery,— a 
mission  successfully  accomplished.  But,  under  date  of  Nov.  30, 
Arnold  wrote  Burr  a  formal  letter  of  introduction  to  Montgomery 
(Me.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  I.,  p.  386),  which  makes  it  perfectly  clear 
that  Burr  had  not  gone  as  Davis  states.  Other  good  arguments 
could  be  offered,  were  not  this  conclusive. 

XL.  (see  page  603) 

A  messenger  (called  Robbisho  by  Senter),  who  had  been  sent  to 
Quebec  by  Arnold,  was  captured.  Along  with  news  of  this,  came 
a  report  that  'the  English  were  determined  to  burn  and  destroy 
all  the  inhabitants  in  the  vicinity  of  Quebec,  unless  they  came  in 
and  took  up  arms  in  defence  of  the  garrison  '  (Senter,  Journal, 
Nov.  5) ;  also,  that  twenty  habitants  were  already  under  sentence 
of  death.  'This  put  the  people  in  a  great  panic'  (ib.),  but  does 
not  seem  to  have  had  any  other  effect. 


Remarks  619 

XLI.  (see  page  604). 

See  letter  in  Henry,  Journal,  p.  187.  The  author  has  not  been 
able  to  satisfy  himself  perfectly  as  to  the  distance.  For  example, 
the  teamsters  call  it  forty  miles  from  St.  Francis  to  Quebec,  and  it 
is  stated  that  the  telephone  company  made  it  thirty-nine  by  meas 
ure  ;  but  according  to  the  government  map,  done  on  a  large  scale, 
this  distance  is  about  forty-seven  miles  in  an  air  line.  The  route 
of  the  Americans  was  a  little  longer  than  a  teamster  would  take 
now.  Their  estimate  would  seem  to  have  been  somewhat  large. 


LIST  OF  SOURCES 

For  the  MSS.  (numbering  about  1425)  see  the  Preface  and  foot 
notes.  For  special  reasons  a  few  MSS.  (indicated  by  asterisks) 
are  mentioned  in  this  list.  To  facilitate  reference,  some  printed 
documents  that  form  parts  of  volumes  are  listed  separately  below. 
In  many  cases  the  titles  of  publications  are  somewhat  abbreviated, 
but  not  in  a  way  to  cause  confusion,  it  is  believed. 

ABBOTT  and  EI.WEXI,.     Hist,  of  Maine.     1892. 
-    ADAM,   WM.    *  Diary.     (In    possession  of  Miss  Adam,  Canaan, 
Conn.). 

ADAMS,  C.  K.  (ed.)     Universal  Cyclopaedia.      12  v.      1900. 

ADAMS,  JOHN.  Familiar  Letters.  1876.  Works  (C.  F.  Adams, 
ed.)  10  v.  1850. 

ADAMS,  SAMUEI,.  *  Papers  (in  Bancroft  Collection,  N.  Y.  Pub. 
Lib.,  Lenox  Branch). 

ADOivPHUS,  J.     Hist,  of  England.     7  v.      1841. 

AiNSUE,  THOMAS.  *  Journal  (Lib.  of  Harvard  Univ.)  *  Order 
ly  Book  (Lib.  of  Cong.). 

Ai<i,EN,  ETHAN.  *  Letters  ( in  various  places  :  see  footnotes). 
Narrative.  1845.  Vindication.  1779. 

AI^ISN,  IRA.     Hist,  of  Vermont  (in  Coll.  Vt.  Hist.  Soc.,  I.). 

ALivEN,  THOMAS.     Hist.  Sketch  of  Berkshire  County.     1808. 

Au,EN,  WII<I,IAM.  Hist,  of  Norridgewock  (Me.).  1849.  Amer. 
Biography.  3d  ed.  1857. 

AI.MON,  J.     Remembrancer,  1775  and  1776. 

American  Antiquarian  Soc.     *  Original  MSS*.    Worcester,  Mass. 

American  Bibliopolist. 

American  Cathol.  Histor.  Researches. 

American  Hist.  Assoc,     Reports  and  Papers. 

American  Hist.  Record.  Vols.  I. -III.  (after  Jan.  i,  1875,  known 
as  Potter's  Monthly). 

American  Historical  Review. 

AMORY,  T.  C.     John  Sullivan.     1868. 

ANBUREY,  THOMAS.  Travels  through  .  .  .  America.  2  v. 
1789. 

ANDERSON,  W.  J.  Siege  and  Blockade  of  Quebec  ...  in 
1775-6.  1872. 

ANDREWS,  W.  L.      Portraiture  of  the  Amer.  Revol.  War. 

Annuaire  de  1'  Institut  Canad.     1876. 

Annual  Register.  Vols.  for  1775  and  1776. 

Anonymous.     Appeal  to  the  Public.     London.     1774. 

621 


622  Our  Struggle  for  the  Fourteenth  Colony 

^Anonymous.     Collection    of  Acts     .    .    .     relative    to    Canada. 

Anonymous.  Death  of  Gen .  Montgomery  :  a  Tragedy      1777 

Anonymous.  First  Church  of  Pittsfield       i88q  ? 

Anonymous.  Hist,  de  1 '  H6pital  General 

Anonymous.  Hist,  des  Ursulines  de  Quebec      4  v      186^  1866 

Anonymous.  Hist,  of  Berkshire  Count}      2  v      188*  Ib63~l866' 

Anonymous.  Le  Colonel  Dambourges.      1866* 

1882. 


of  the 

^Anonymous.     Proceedings  of  the  Convention  of  N.  H.  Settlers. 
Anonymous.     Quebec  and  New  York. 


Anonymous.     Souvenir  de  Maisonneuve       10 
Anonymous.      Ursulines  de  Quebec.     4  v       186^-66 
Anonymous.      Ursulines  de  Trois  Rivilres      2  v       r 
feTc^r*  ^    Am'ri<1Ue  SeP^     ^6.    Cada,  Louisi- 
Appl^eton's  Journal. 

Life    of 


'  Arnold's  March,  Appen- 
those  in  Me.  Hist.  Soc    Coll     I     and 

wshnp        (C\lled    E'   Arnold's:    Pension  'office^ 
Washington,  D.  C.).    Regim.  Memor.  Book  (Penna.  Journal,  VIII., 

ARNOT.D,  I.  N.     Life  of  B.  Arnold.     1880 
ARNOLD,  S.  G.     Hist,  of  Rhode  Island.     2  v      1804 
AUSTIN,  J.  T.     Elbridge  Gerry.     2  v      1828 

'  Hist,  de  1>  Amdr. 


*  Invasion  of  Canada    (in  possession  of  Mr. 
the  BritlSh  and   French    Dom^ions   in    No. 
TliOMAS-     The  French  iu  America  (trans,  by  T.  W.  B.). 


BARLOW,  A.     *  Orderly  Book  and  Journal  (N   Y 

Batties  of 


845 

,  J.  R.     Records  of  the  Colony  of  R.  Id.     1862 
,  JOSIAH.     *  Papers  (Lib.  of  Dartmouth  College). 


List  of  Sources  623 

,  JOSIAH,  et  al.     Letters.     1888. 

BASCOM,  R.  O.     Capt.  I.  Norton's  Orderly  Book.     1898. 

BATCHELLOR,  A.  S.  The  Ranger  Service  in  the  Upper  Valley 
of  the  Conn.  1903. 

BAXTER,  J.  P.     New  France  in   New  England.     1894. 

BAYLEY,  FRYE.  *  Narrative  (in  possession  of  Justin  H.  Smith). 

BEAUCHAMP,  W.  M.     Hist,  of  the  N.  Y.  Iroquois.       1905. 

BEDEL  Papers.  *  N.  H.  Hist.  Soc.  (see  also  N.  H.  State  Pa 
pers,  XVII.). 

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